 I thought that over the next several weeks, I’d post a number of different bread recipes that readers have sent me to try. I love it when you send me recipes because you broaden everybody’s cook books! I will always try what you send and if Mr. Fix-It gives me a thumbs up, I’ll post the results with a “kudos” to you. There may be a few other things thrown in between recipes, but I have four or five I’d like to share. This first bread is really, really, really, really (is that enough for emphasis?) easy and would be a great bread for anyone who has never made bread and wants to practice. It is awesome for sandwiches becasuse the crust is more firm and the slices hold together perfectly when sliced with a serrated bread knife. This recipe is from reader, Shari, and I think you’ll enjoy it. So get out your Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™…oh? You don’t have one? Well, first, pop over to the shopping page and order one and then start your bread baking with ease and no cleanup! 1 cup warm water 3 tbsp butter 1 egg 2 tbsp sugar or honey 1 1/2 tsp salt 3 1/2 cups bread or all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Bread Flour) 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk 2 tsp yeast  Pour water + 1 tsp sugar into mixing bowl. Add yeast. Allow to sit until yeast is bubbly. (proofed)  When yeast is proofed, add egg  And butter  Mix slightly until egg is fully incorporated and add honey or sugar  Add dough enhancer if you like to use it. You can order dough enhancer from Sonrise Whole Grains right here in Oklahoma City.  Add powdered milk  Add salt  Add one cup of flour and mix until smooth. Continue slowly adding flour until you have a sticky batter. (Reserve some flour for shaping the dough) Either knead by hand or, in the mixer with a dough hook, knead for about 8 minutes on medium speed. This is the easiest way because you are not adding flour in the kneading process which keeps the dough light.  After kneading in the mixer, scoop the dough onto a floured surface, preferably on your Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™!  Knead slightly to form a ball  Put a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a large bowl and place ball of dough top down into oil. Turn dough so that oiled top is then on top. Cover with warm, damp towel and allow to rise to double in size in a warm place. I turn my oven to 150º for 10 minutes, turn off the oven, open the door to allow to cool a second and then place the bread dough into the warm oven to rise. (close the door during rising to trap the warmth)  When the dough has doubled, put it back onto your floured surface and shape into a bread loaf. Place into loaf pan and allow to rise to double again. Bake at 350º for 25 – 30 minutes until evenly browned on top.  As soon as you remove the bread from the oven, spray it with water and cover with a towel to steam for about 10 minutes.  Remove bread from pan and finish cooling, covered with a towel, on a rack. This recipe makes a very pretty loaf of bread.  Using a finely serrated knife to cut bread is a must, but it makes especially pretty slices with this bread. I made a grilled cheese sandwich with it today and yummy!! So thank you, Shari, for sharing this recipe with us. It is one that is going into our recipe holder for frequent use!!  |
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This bread looks so good-I want some right now. I bought some fresh yeast yesterday and have a stretch of time tomorrow evening, so guess what? Today I made some pear butter with pears from my mother-in-law’s ancient tree, and mixed up some OPC butter so all I need is the bread! Thanks for the recipe.
Well, you are halfway there!! 🙂