Food For Thought

Hope this post finds you with a full heart from the holidays ... but, with a belly that hasn't been filled too full, too! :)

As I was thinking about what to highlight this week, I thought I would showcase something simple, but simply delicious:  Bread.  There is nothing quite so wonderful as the smell of fresh-baked bread ... except for a slice of said fresh-baked bread, still warm from the oven with a dibby-dab of butter.  Yumm ...  I have a few girls who are convinced that indeed you can live on bread alone! :)

Unfortunately, I think that this generation has lost touch with this down-to-earth delight, seeing as more often than not, our bread comes from the store, wrapped in plastic and at room temperature.  Such a pity!

So, here's my little tutorial on home-baked bread.  I hope you will discover how simple and yet scrumptious bread making can be!

If you are the proud owner of a bread machine, you can just pop these breads right in your machine.  I have listed the ingredients in the order that you will want to put them into the pan.  Follow your machines instructions for baking.

If you don't have a bread machine ... no worries ... I will talk you through it.  I have a KitchenAide mixer that I love for making bread.  But, if you don't have a sturdy mixer, we'll just use our hands! :)  Here we go!

Peasant Bread
(from The Bread Machine Cookbook, Copyright 1991)


Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup water (warm from the tap)
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 cups flour (I use half white, half wheat.)
2 t. yeast

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.  Stir to combine.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the water, sugar and yeast.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes until it starts to foam.  Add the liquids to the dry ingredients.  If using a mixer, drizzle the water in a steady stream.  If using your hands, stir this with a wooden spoon until it's too tough to mix ... then get at it with your hands.

When all the water is added and mixed in it's time to knead.  With my mixer, that means setting it to about speed #3 and letting it go for about 2-3 minutes.  If I'm using my hands, I dust the countertop with extra flour, dump out the bread and start kneading with my hands (about 7-10 minutes).  When I'm finished, the dough should feel smooth, not sticky, and have some good stretchiness to it.

Now it's time to let it rest and rise.  Take a large bowl and spray the inside with oil (I use pan spray).  Roll the dough into a ball and roll it around inside the oiled bowl until it's covered lightly with oil.  This will keep the dough from drying out.  Cover the bowl with a towel and set this somewhere warm.  I like to stick it in my oven, that has been warmed for a few minutes.  Set the timer for about 1 hour.  The dough is ready when you poke it with your finger and the dough doesn't spring back up.

Now it's time to shape the dough.  Grease a bread pan with pan spray and set it aside.  Lightly dust the countertop again and dump the dough out.  Knead it again a few times to knock the air bubbles out.  Then roll it out and roll it up to fit in the bread pan.  Cover this again and pop it back in the oven to rise the second time.  This will also take about an hour.  When the dough has risen to double it's size, carefully take it out and set it on the counter.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Bake the bread for about 20 minutes until it's golden brown on top.

Honey Spice Bread

(from my mom's kitchen ... we ate some on Thursday!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1 t. salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup honey, warmed

7 cups flour (I use half white, half wheat.)

4 tsp yeast

2 T ground coriander

1/2 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cinnamon

(This bakes two loaves of bread.  I would recommend using half the recipe if baking this in your bread machine.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs, butter and honey.  In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Gradually add this to the milk mixture while letting your mixer run.  Or stir with a wood spoon between batches.  Knead this on a floured countertop for about 10 minutes.  (Or let your mixer run on speed #3 for about 2-3 minutes.)

Now it's time to let it rest and rise.  Take a large bowl and spray the inside with oil (I use pan spray).  Roll the dough into a ball and roll it around inside the oiled bowl until it's covered lightly with oil.  This will keep the dough from drying out.  Cover the bowl with a towel and set this somewhere warm.  I like to stick it in my oven, that has been warmed for a few minutes.  Set the timer for about 1 hour.  The dough is ready when you poke it with your finger and the dough doesn't spring back up.

Now it's time to shape the dough.  Grease two bread pans with pan spray and set them aside.  Lightly dust the countertop again and dump the dough out.  Knead it again a few times to knock the air bubbles out.  Divide the dough into two pieces.  Then roll each out and roll them up to fit in two bread pans.  Cover them again and pop them back in the oven to rise the second time.  This will also take about an hour.  When the dough has risen to double it's size, carefully take them out and set them on the counter.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes.

This also makes a fantabulous french bread ... so yummy, it deserved a brand-new word. :)

"Macaroni Grill" Bread

(from www.copycat.com ... via my good friend, Kim.)

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1 t. salt

2 1/2 cup flour (I use half white, half wheat.)

1 T. yeast

1 T. sugar

2 T. rosemary

1 T. olive oil

(For this recipe, if you are using a bread machine, you will want to use the Dough Cycle.  You will make your bread using the water, salt, flour, yeast and sugar ... saving the rosemary and olive oil for later.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  In a small bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes until it foams.  Add the dry and wet ingredients and mix well.  Knead in your machine on speed #3 for about 2-3 minutes or on a floured countertop for about 7-10 minutes.

Now it's time to let it rest and rise.  Take a large bowl and spray the inside with oil (I use pan spray).  Roll the dough into a ball and roll it around inside the oiled bowl until it's covered lightly with oil.  This will keep the dough from drying out.  Cover the bowl with a towel and set this somewhere warm.  I like to stick it in my oven, that has been warmed for a few minutes.  Set the timer for about 1 hour.  The dough is ready when you poke it with your finger and the dough doesn't spring back up.

For you bread machine bakers ... this is where you take out your dough and follow along. :)

Remove the dough from the bowl and place in on the floured countertop.  Knead it a few times to knock out the air bubbles.  Divide the dough into two pieces and shape each into small rounded oval loaves.  Place them on a cookie sheet.  Brush their surfaces with the olive oil.  Sprinkle rosemary over the top of the loaves and press it lightly into the surface.  

Cover and let rise in your warm oven until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Gently remove the cookie sheet from the oven.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Lightly sprinkle the loaves with coarse salt.  Back for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

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I hope you can astound your family and friends with a fresh loaf of mouth-watering home-made bread this holiday season.  Of course, with as quickly as they will scarf it down ... better double the recipe! :)

Sorry no pictures this week ... I'm off playing with my family! :)