Bread

We are heading into Thanksgiving season. Turkeys, cranberries, yams, stuffing, green beans, deviled eggs, bread, and pies. We don't do fancy dishes at Thanksgiving, just the usual suspects. They aren't loved any less. I do want to get good at these things. I want to be able to know when to make what without having a cheat sheet of when I should put the stuffing in the oven, and when to start the cranberries so everything is hot and ready at the same time. I am not there yet. I will have a cheat sheet again this year.

This time of year is also baking season for me. It's cold and I like to warm up the house with the oven and the crockpot. I have already baked (and eaten) my fair share of desserts for the season so now I am trying to find a bread recipe we can all live with.

I like knowing what is going into my bread and I like to save money, so I bake our bread. Sometimes the recipes that I come across aren't exactly... flavorful. It seems like the past few months my tastes have changed because all of my breads are coming out too salty or too yeasty or too dry. Those aren't adjectives I want to use when I am describing my bread.

I found this recipe for Amish White Bread. It was good. Crazy good.

Ultimately though, I felt kind of guilty about all the sugar and white flour. I made some small adjustments and this is by far the best tasting bread I have had in a really long time.

 

Daily Bread

 2 Cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 

1/3  Cup white sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1 tspn salt

1/4 tspn cinnamon

3 Tablespoons milled flaxseed

1/3 Cup canola oil

4 Cups all-purpose flour

2 Cups whole wheat flour

The process is the same as with most yeast breads.
Mix together yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and water and give it a little stir. Once your mixture gets a bit foamy add the flour and oil. Knead the dough until it has a nice elastic to it. Add more flour if you need to. Cover and let the dough rise in a proof box (microwave with a cup of hot water - don't turn the microwave on). I let mine rise for about 2 hours. After 2 hours I split the dough in half and form it into loaves and set the dough in greased loaf pans. Return the loaf pans to the proof box. Cover and let sit. Most recipes will say let rise another 30 minutes. My dough is never right after 30 minutes, so I let mine rise for about an hour to hour and half. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. If my bread comes out really crunchy, I let it cool then wrap it in foil. It mostly comes out perfectly fine and I just wrap it up in a clean dry kitchen towel.

Bread

We eat bread.

We do not eat bread at every meal, or even every day of the week.  We eat bread because life is too short to deny yourself the warm crusty goodness of fresh baked bread...and from what I have learned about denial, it always comes back to bite you in the ass later anyway.

Bread is one of the oldest foods. It has kept generations of families from starving to death. It is simple. It makes me feel GOOD and that is very important. I want to eat healthy, make good choices for my family and I want to enjoy every little piece of the process that goes into feeding my children.

I make a big batch of bread every 7-14 days depending on how things are going. Sometimes I make bread for the shop. But mostly, I make it for us. I mix two really great recipes & methods together to do what we do. One is the famous No-Knead Bread Recipe and the other comes from the book Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day. I highly recommend this book. It is full of great bread recipes and methods.  By using recipes and methods for both I get a simple bread that is easy for my little ones to chew and the adults still get the yummy crust we crave.

Here is what I use:

12.7 Qt plastic bin with lid
6 Cups cold water
3 Tablespoons active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons salt
13 Cups of flour
cast iron dutch oven
(recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day)

Here is what I do:
First, I pour 6 Cups of cold water into the bin, then I add the yeast and salt and give it a little stir.
Then I add 13 Cups of flour and stir it a bit, just to coat all the flour.
Next I plop the lid on top, but I do not close it up tight. Let the dough rise overnight.

The next morning I preheat my oven to 450degrees. I put the dutch oven in while the oven preheats.
Next I pull off about a grapefruit size mess of dough and work some flour into it. Sprinkle the top with flour, then work the flour in by folding it under over and over again. Cut some slits in the top. I let the dough rest while the oven preheats.

Once the oven is preheated I lightly dust the bottom of the dutch oven with flour or cornmeal (whatever I am in the mood for) and then place my dough in. Put the lid on.
Bake for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes I take the lid off and let it bake for another 12-15 minutes. This varies depending on the size of the dough I use.
I slide the bread out using a long wooden spoon and place the warm bread on a cooling rack to rest for about an hour before cutting into it.
Store the dough in the refrigerator. I have left mine in there chilling for up to 2 weeks.  

This recipe makes about 8 loaves of bread. The loaf size is perfect for a family of 4-5 to enjoy with dinner or with eggs at breakfast. We use it for sandwiches, french toast, as a little dessert when we spread some apple butter over it. It's super easy. And it's super delicious.



Enjoy!

Few & Cheap

When I look through recipes, I look for two things:

1. Few Ingredients
2. Cheap Ingredients

I have tried so many recipes over the years. Some recipes are fantastic but laborious. The ones that stick with me--the ones that become a part of our lives--are the ones that I can remember and that I can afford. So in an effort to keep our lives and meals simple, we collect and adjust recipes to fit our tastes, patience, and budgets.

Here is my favorite recipe, adapted from the back of a flour bag. I make this once or twice a week and it is unbelievably good.

Honey-Wheat Bread

Ingredients
2 packages regular active dry yeast
1/4 Cup Warm Water
3/4 Cup Honey
2 T Butter
2 teaspoons Salt
1 Cup Oats
3/4 Cup Flaxseed Meal
2 1/2 Cup Warm Water
4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 to 3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 T Cooking Oil

Directions
1. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 Cup Warm Water.
2. Mix honey, butter & salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 1/2 Cups warm water.
3. Beat in wheat flour, oats & flaxseed until moistened. Add in dissolved yeast, and stir with spoon.
4. Add all-purpose flour until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and your dough is no longer sticking to your fingers. Knead dough 5 to 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
5. Cover dough with a towel and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Set in a warm spot *see tip below* to rise for about an hour.
6. After the dough has doubled in size, cut it in half. Grease two loaf pans and place dough in bread pans.
7. Cover dough with a towel and set in a warm spot for about 30-45 minutes.
8. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when you tap on them. Let cool and enjoy.

Makes 2 beautiful loaves.

Tip *Heat 1 Cup of Water in Microwave for 60 seconds. Then place dough in microwave alongside your warm water. It's a perfect warm, moist place for your dough to rise and no little hands will come back and poke at it.*