Bread Recipe

[pslamont]

For those who asked, here is the bread recipie. I just vary the flour with white or wheat or often a combination of the two... it is really as easy as is sounds.

BREAD


2 cups warm water
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 c vegetable oil
6 cups flour

1. Put warm water, yeast and sugar into a bowl; stir to a white foam ( kinda...)

2. Add salt, oil and stir

3. Add flour one up at a time

Kneed for 2 – 4 minutes

Place in well oiled bowl, coat surface in oil, cover with a damp cloth and let rise 1 hour. (I take it out of the mixing bowl wash the bowl, dry then generously oil the bowl and then put the dough back in to rise).

Punch down and kneed for 2-4 minutes, then divide into two equal loafs. Shape each loaf and place in well oiled loaf pan and let rise to one inch above pan edge. (again, cover with the damp cloth).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place bread in oven, lower temp to 325 degrees, and bake about 1 hour.

I check and if the bread is too soft (and therefore maybe doughy inside) I turn off the oven and leave it in there for a while.

Note: when you do the second kneeding, you can fold "stuff" into the bread... anything from herbs to fruits and sugar. It's a fun and easy recipie....... enjoy!


Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!

[Hotzcatz]

That looks like a tasty recipe. A bit of rosemary oil would make for tasty pizza dough. Also for pizza dough it doesn't have to rise but can be used immediately after the first kneading.

[Iju]

Oooh.. thank you, Pam. I sure will give it a try. Yours is so onolicious.

val

[rbonplaza]

Ok. Almost a year later I'm finally trying Pam's recipe. After retirement last June, spending five months building our house in Puna, I finally have time to try my hand at baking bread! Please note: I am not a kitchen person, or wasn't until retirement. Have had three great results baking Ciabatta from a Cooks Illustrated issue. Very easy if you have a stand mixer. Now going after Pam's recipe for regular bread. We'll see if I can find success! I really do think bread making is an important skill I've never learned.

Thank you Pam for sharing, and keep working on that knee. Ed and I wish you had waited until we're there full time: I'm a nurse and Ed's a great cook.... we could have come up to help out!

[hooligal]

Let us know how it turns out! Very timely, as I was just about to try an 'easy' recipe from Mother Earth News!

* I'd rather fail at happiness than succeed at misery *

[kani-lehua]

this weather is keeping everyone indoors and has gotten renee to baking bread as well.

"chaos reigns within.
reflect, repent and reboot.
order shall return."

microsoft error message with haiku poetry

[rbonplaza]

Exactly the reason I am in the kitchen instead of getting the garden ready for spring planting. It's cold here in San Jose. After my time in Puna, roughly August through January, I have been freezing and can't get warm enough to work outside! This should end soon, but I've never been so cold. I've lived in this house for 30 years! So another recipe treat:
A very simple shortbread cookie. Not very healthy, but tasty after dinner or with tea.

3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup flour less 2 tbls
2 tbls rice flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch

Combine well with hands, roll on waxed paper to 1/4", cut into 1"x 2" cookies
Place on ungreased baking sheet (use teflon if available)
Bake 25 min @ 300 degrees

[Iju]

I've been baking my own bread ever since O'Keefe Bakery closed its door. Thanks to Pam for convincing me that I don' need to bring my bread machine here. With hand kneading, the bread comes out so much better. Here is my recipe that I copied from Bernard Clayton's book with major tweak:

Country Bread

Starter:
1 1/4 c. warm water (room temp.)
1 tsp. dry yeast
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole-wheat flour

Dough:
All of the starter
2 1/4 c.warm water
1 tsp dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
5 C. all-purpose flour, approximately
2 Tbsp dry milk (optional)

Make the starter, cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for at least 4 hours. Left overnight it will develop even more flavor and strength. (I usually leave it 24 hrs at room temp, then 3 to 5 days in the frig, the bread came out even better.)

Add the remaining ingredients to the starter, knead for 8 minutes. Turn ball of dough into greased large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until dough is risen to double its volume, about 2 hours.

Push dough down and shape to two desired number of loaves. Left under wax paper to triple in size, about 2 hours at room temperature. (I follow Pam's one bowl method here... mixing, kneading, rising all in one large mixing bowl...no messy counter.)

Preheat the oven to 475°F, then reduce the heat to 425°F. Bake at 425 'F for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the bread in the oven for another 10 minutes. Yield: two 9x5 loaves.

[Youser]

Here's a bread recipe that requires no kneading and is easy enough for an 8 year old (except the hot oven part)

I make this when I am without my bread maker, and it's fabulous - really like one of those old fashioned chewy French country bread. The true bread flavour comes out as there is no sugar, oil or anything else to doctor it up.

I had to experiment a few times and found the amount of water called for is too much - especially here with our 100% humidity so I would say start with 1 1/4 cup and just add until you get the so called "shaggy" dough.

This is the easiest and best bread recipe I've found and although it takes a couple of days, it's no work at all.



3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast (Yes, just 1/4 tsp!)
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water (I think too much, start with 1 1/4 and work up), and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. (I have left it 20 hours and it just gets better)

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Check the link here, you can see the photos

http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/the_wed..._nokn.html

[pslamont]

I miss baking bread.... who wants to come over and make bread with me????? I can't stand up long enough or carry the stuff from the pantry

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"