Ingredients:
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar1/2 cup (125 mL) water, warm
1 envelope (8 g) active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp/11 mL)
1 cup (250 mL) milk
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter or margarine
2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) water, warm
5 1/2 cups (1375 mL) white flour
Directions:
1. DISSOLVE 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sugar in 1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle in yeast. Let stand 10 minutes, then stir well.2. HEAT milk to lukewarm. Stir in butter, 2 tablespoons (30 mL) sugar, salt and 1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water. Add milk mixture and 2 cups (500 mL) white flour to dissolved yeast mixture. Beat with wooden spoon or electric mixer until smooth and elastic.
3. STIR IN 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) of remaining flour gradually. If necessary, add more flour to make a soft dough which leaves sides of bowl. Turn out on floured board. Round up into a ball.
4. KNEAD dough, adding more flour as necessary, until dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky (about 10 minutes).
5. PLACE in lightly greased bowl. Turn dough to greased top. Cover with greased waxed paper and tea towel.
6. LET RISE in warm place (75°-85°F/24°-29°C) until doubled (45-60 minutes).
7. PUNCH DOWN. Turn out onto lightly floured board and divide into 2 equal portions. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
8. SHAPE each portion into a loaf. Place seam side down in 2 greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" (1.5 L) loaf pans. Cover with tea towel.
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| The bread dough is ready for it's second rise. I guess I could have made the loves nice and neat and smoother but I think these will taste the same *wink. |
9. LET RISE in warm place until dough rises 1 1/2" (3 cm) above top of pan in centre and corners are filled (45 to 60 minutes).
10. BAKE at 400°F (200°C) on lower oven rack for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Brush top crust with butter if a soft crust is desired. Cool on wire racks.
11. QUICK NOTE: This recipe makes 2 loaves. You can double the recipe to make 4 loaves.
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| Cooling the bread. I think it turned out nicely. I gave it a taste test after cooling. The bread was delicious. It was also soft and moist without being full of air. |
Nutritional Information |
|
| Servings Per Recipe | 8 |
| Per 2 slices (85 g) | |
| Calories | 214 |
| Protein | 6.9 g |
| Fat | 3.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.9 gm |
| Carbohydrate | 38.9 g |
| Fibre | 1.1 g |
| Sodium | 451 mg |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Vitamin A | 3 %DV |
| Vitamin C | 0 %DV |
| Calcium | 0 %DV |
| Iron | 12 %DV |
These did not last very long because the loaves were small. I also made two larger, multi-grain loaves later in the week. Those will last a little longer.
How about you dear reader?
Do you have an easy bread recipe that you believe is tried and true?
I'd love to hear about it.
22 comments:
That looks so good!
Hello Joyful.
Your bread looks great.
Valter always bake bread, he is a trained baker (1968) but has not worked for a baker since 1970.
None of us is in labor more - we both "silver" Early retiree / pensioner.
Wishing you a good weekend.
Hugs Hanne Bente ♥
These loaves look fantastic, I am impressed. I am now in lazy mood as we bought a bread machine just before moving to France :) We mostly make mixed grain as we enjoy the flavour. Trouble is the bread in the artisan French Bakers here is so delicious, it is hard to walk pass and not to pop in and buy a loaf. Diane
Hello Hanne,
Oh my you are so blessed to have a trainer baker in your family. I bet you have wonderful bread anytime you like. It is nice that you are retired. I am retired now too so I have more time to do things like bake bread and beans. I always wanted to do these things but never had time! Have a wonderful weekend. Knus, Joyful
Thank you, Diane. I'm glad you like the bread. I also have a bread machine and used it a lot when I first got it as I was still working. I bought most of my bread in those days. I just didn't like how long it took to make one loaf in the bread machine. I would have a hard time in France walking past the baker as I love artisan bread so much ;-)
Beautiful beautiful bread loaves! There is absolutely nothing like homemade bread- and the smell of fresh bread baking! I'm a little lazy these days-- I use my bread machine all the time-- and love it! But from time to time I do make bread the old fashioned way- its the ultimate best!!
The only bad thing about fresh bread is that I could eat it all!!
Xo
Vicki
OK, you homemade bread people are inspiring me. I haven't ever made bread from scratch but I am going to try. I am giving you a link to a old school chum who blogs out of Texas. She has some great bread post -
http://thymesquaregarden.blogspot.com/2011/12/french-baguettes-to-breadsticks.html
I probably should start out with the heat & serve stuff and see if I can handle that first :D
Simply gorgeous - makes me feel guilty that I rely on my bread machine, but no way do I get such a professional looking finish.
I've caught up with all your posts Penny - sorry I haven't commented. I've had flu for a week, coughing my lungs out and getting weaker by the day, though I've now persuaded my doc to give me antibiotics and I'm slightly better. I don't want to be away from work for longer than a week, as I haven't been working there long and don't want the reputation of a 'sickie'. Tragically I haven't even had the will or the energy to want to write - the posts of the last few weeks were written before Xmas.
I've been reading instead, and tackling the Count of Montecristo... a good story but goodness knows how long it will take me to finish!
Caroline
Beautiful, Penny! There is nothing that smells better to me than hot home-made bread fresh out of othe oven! On a cold day, a cup of hot coffee or tea, a bit of cold butter mixed with molasses to spread on the bread and you have food fit for a King!
These loaves of bread look absolutely delicious! I really want to start making my own bread as well. I make my own pizza dough and I'm still perfecting it, making bread is definitely an art!
Thank you, Vicky! I appreciate the visit and the kind comments. I totally agree that bread the old fashioned way is the ultimate best. I love the smell of fresh baking bread. It brings back wonderful childhood memories ;-)
Kaybe, thank you so much for the link. I will definitely check it out! There is nothing wrong with heat and serve. Is that the same as frozen bread dough? My mom used to use that when she got a bit older and we quite enjoyed it. She was a wonderful cook in her day. Nowadays she can't make anything and I wish she could. Happy baking!
Thank you, Caroline. I'm very sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Don't push yourself at home. Just rest. Easier said, than done sometimes, esp. if you are the one cooking and cleaning.
I had a busy day today and have busily been trying to get back into the swing of things myself after being too tired for awhile. I'm glad you're reading. I love to read. Right now I have several classics on the go on my Playberry and a paperback that should be interesting. Enjoy your book.
I couldn't agree with you more Fred. I've never tried butter with molasses and butter. That is healthy I'm sure.
Lydia, I'm glad you are working on pizza dough. I don't eat a lot of pizza but am quite proud of myself (LOL) when I was able to make pizza dough also. It is always a great feeling to make things from scratch. Good luck as you move forward in your repertoire. I remember when I did my week of vegan eating, I was doing a lot of from scratch cooking but of a different kind.
Looks so YUMMY! I can just imagine what your house smelled like while this bread was baking. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy Sunday!
Hi there - I have just returned from the wild, woolly and less that wonderful world of wireless only internet - so now I'm catching up.
Does anything ever taste as good as fresh, oven warm bread? I don’t think so.
Cheers - Stewart M - Australia
Hi Eileen, the house did smell YUMMY :-)) Thanks for visiting.
Hello Stewart, my imagination conjures up a lot when you say "wild, wooly" Australia. I hope you had a wonderful time. thanks for visiting.
Penny, your bread looks so beautiful, I can almost smell it! When you are ready for artisan bread, you will be surprised at how much fun you have making it. Here is Linda Carson's (at the 7MSN Ranch) wonderful set of instructions, beautifully illustrated with her photos: Let's Bake Some Bread Together. I urge you to give it a try--you won't be sorry, and will end up with an amazing loaf!
Thank you, Clair! I will check that out :-)
Thank you, Phillip. I'm glad you liked it :-)
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