Crock Pot Bread

NJ bakes most of our bread, but yesterday decided she had to try something different. Sort of a "science project" to make bread in the crock pot. It's not the best bread she has ever made, but it is surprisingly tasty. I had never heard of baking bread in a crock pot before, but there is a lot of crap I don't know!!

Crock Bread.jpg

Crock Bread 2.jpg

[Jenise]

That's pretty clever! Looks rather like a pannetone which is an attractive shape. I've never seen a crockpot that shape before, by the way, narrow and tall--my crock pot is oval so I was expecting to see something that looked like an extra large flat-sided football.

I'm surprised it's that brown. I thought crock pots were limited to a lower level of heat. I remember making pressure cooker bread many years ago, but that's a different technique entirely.
Ines

Wow, that is amazing. I used to make bread all the time in my bread maker. I had to give it up because of all the ingredients I kept in the freezer just for bread making.. It was more important for me to have the space for stocks, tomato sauce, applesauce, pestos, etc. It was fun while it lasted, and with the arrival of a few really good local bakeries, I let them make the bread. That is an old style slow cooker, it looks like. It did a beautiful job with the crust.

I'm amazed.

Bill, did NJ actually cook the bread in the crock pot, or did she put the dough in the ceramic bowl of the crockpot and then bake it in the oven? If it's the former, then I'm astonished too - I didn't think the crock pot would get hot enough. Would love to know how she did it...

Bill, did NJ actually cook the bread in the crock pot, or did she put the dough in the ceramic bowl of the crockpot and then bake it in the oven? If it's the former, then I'm astonished too - I didn't think the crock pot would get hot enough. Would love to know how she did it...

Celia-
Just in the crock pot, no oven required. I'll see if I can dig up the particulars from NJ later, but IIRC it had to cook like 2.5 hours.
BP

Here is the recipe and some "notes" that NJ made. I think the basic recipe came off the interweb and she added some personal flourishes. BTW, the ginger gave it a rich golden hue.

Slow Cooker Classic White Bread 2-14-10

2 ¼ t. active dry yeast
1 t. sugar
¼ cup warm water
1 egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup lukewarm water
1 t. salt
¼ cup sugar
3 ½ to 4 cups flour

1. In a bowl, mix yeast, 1 t. sugar and ¼ cup warm water. Let yeast foam for 5 minutes.
2. Add egg, oil, lukewarm water, salt, ¼ cup sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer.
3. Stir in remaining flour; place dough in a greased 4-5 qt slow cooker. Cover; cook on high for 2 to 3 hours. Remove crock from cooker; let stand 5 minutes.

NJ’s notes
Add a ¼ t. ginger to yeast mixture. (totally unnecessary)
Added about a cup & a half extra flour (used regular flour)
I wasn’t sure if the dough was supposed to look like a “batter dough” or regular dough.
It was still a little sticky when I put it in the crock.
Cooked for full 3 hours. Wasn’t sure how to figure out when it was done. Left it until the top of bread looked dry. And wasn’t sure if adding extra flour added to cooking time.
Thought the crust was a thick-meaning maybe it was over cooked a little. But it tasted great.

Brava!