2 cups water
2 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups wheat flour
4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup honey
Heat the water so it's warm to the touch but not too warm (2 minutes in the microwave and let sit for five minutes while you chase a screaming kid).
Stir the sugar into the water to dissolve. Add the yeast, stir again. Let it sit for five minutes until frothy.
Add the oil. Stir.
Add the wheat flour. Stir.
Add two cups of bread flour and the honey. Stir.
Add the salt. Stir.
Add the last two cups of bread flour. Knead for 3-5 minutes.
Cover loosely and let the dough double in size, about 1 hour in normal conditions. It will take longer if your house is cold.
Grease the inside of your loaf pan (this makes one large loaf of bread or two smaller ones).
Knead the dough for another 3-5 minutes. Please the dough in the loaf pan and let it rise until it's an inch over the top.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes.
Total working time... 20 minutes.
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sourdough Soft Pretzels
Recipe adapted from various sources.
Soft pretzels really are a labor of love. They aren't quick to make, but they are delicious. This fall I've been on a major "make it at home" kick. I've stopped buying jam and jelly at the store. I can make my own at home and can the resulting deliciousness. We're getting away from store bought bread, and that means homemade loaves that we like.
Sourdough is one of my favorite sandwich breads. It suits my lifestyle. Yes, it takes patience and planning to have sourdough starter lying around, but once you have the starter this is a 15 Minute Bread. You stir, abandon, knead, abandon, knead again, abandon, and then bake! Total time actually spent in the kitchen or the house with abandoned bread? Less than 45 minutes if you include the bake time.
The pretzels take a little bit more effort, but the basic sourdough bread is there. I usually split my dough so I have a small loaf, and a batch of palm-sized soft pretzels for snacks.
Sourdough Starter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup warm water (90 seconds in microwave)
- 1 packet yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Combine all ingredients in large mason jar. Cover with cheese cloth held down by a rubber band. Let sit on counter for at least three days. The jar will need to be stirred several times the first day, and once every day thereafter. The starter needs to be refreshed (fed) every week whether it is used or not. Add a heaping tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of sugar or honey every week.
Sourdough
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 packet of yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups warm water (90 seconds in microwave)
- 3 teaspoons butter
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Heat water and butter – the water should be warmer than bath water but not boiling. Stir together sourdough starter, yeast, sugar, and the bread flour. Add the water and baking soda. Slowly mix in the unbleached flour.
Knead for several minutes until no flour stick to the side of the bowl.
Set in a warm place to rise for 1-4 hours. You can preheat the oven to 350 for a few minutes, then turn off the oven and stick the bowl in there to rise as long as it isn’t hot. The oven should feel slightly to warm for comfort, but if it is too hot the yeast will due.
After the dough has risen knead it again for five minutes.
Bread-- Grease loaf pan or the locking rim on a springform pan (to shape round loaves). Place the kneaded loaf in the pan and let rise until double in size (1-4 hours depending on temp). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Pretzels--
- White from one egg
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- Kosher salt or other large rock salt for sprinkling
- Large pot of water for boiling
Divide dough into fist sized balls. Let balls sit five minutes to relax than roll out into long snakes.
To fold the pretzel grab the snake in the middle, cross the ribbons twice, then fold the ribbons back up the the body of the snake and pinch the dough together.
Let the pretzels sit and rise for 30-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 475.
Fill a pot large enough to accommodate 2-3 pretzels at a time and fill halfway with water. Add the baking soda and bring to a low boil. A full rolling boil will be to hot.
Bake for 4 minutes at 475. Remove pretzels and turn oven down to 350.
Drop pretzels into boiling water in batches. Boil for 1 minute on each side.
Place boiled pretzels on baking sheet and brush with egg whites. Sprinkle salt over the pretzels. Bake for 15-25 minutes until pretzels are golden brown. Enjoy!
Soft pretzels really are a labor of love. They aren't quick to make, but they are delicious. This fall I've been on a major "make it at home" kick. I've stopped buying jam and jelly at the store. I can make my own at home and can the resulting deliciousness. We're getting away from store bought bread, and that means homemade loaves that we like.
Sourdough is one of my favorite sandwich breads. It suits my lifestyle. Yes, it takes patience and planning to have sourdough starter lying around, but once you have the starter this is a 15 Minute Bread. You stir, abandon, knead, abandon, knead again, abandon, and then bake! Total time actually spent in the kitchen or the house with abandoned bread? Less than 45 minutes if you include the bake time.
The pretzels take a little bit more effort, but the basic sourdough bread is there. I usually split my dough so I have a small loaf, and a batch of palm-sized soft pretzels for snacks.
Sourdough Starter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup warm water (90 seconds in microwave)
- 1 packet yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Combine all ingredients in large mason jar. Cover with cheese cloth held down by a rubber band. Let sit on counter for at least three days. The jar will need to be stirred several times the first day, and once every day thereafter. The starter needs to be refreshed (fed) every week whether it is used or not. Add a heaping tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of sugar or honey every week.
Sourdough
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 packet of yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups warm water (90 seconds in microwave)
- 3 teaspoons butter
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Heat water and butter – the water should be warmer than bath water but not boiling. Stir together sourdough starter, yeast, sugar, and the bread flour. Add the water and baking soda. Slowly mix in the unbleached flour.
Knead for several minutes until no flour stick to the side of the bowl.
Set in a warm place to rise for 1-4 hours. You can preheat the oven to 350 for a few minutes, then turn off the oven and stick the bowl in there to rise as long as it isn’t hot. The oven should feel slightly to warm for comfort, but if it is too hot the yeast will due.
After the dough has risen knead it again for five minutes.
Bread-- Grease loaf pan or the locking rim on a springform pan (to shape round loaves). Place the kneaded loaf in the pan and let rise until double in size (1-4 hours depending on temp). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Pretzels--
- White from one egg
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- Kosher salt or other large rock salt for sprinkling
- Large pot of water for boiling
Divide dough into fist sized balls. Let balls sit five minutes to relax than roll out into long snakes.
To fold the pretzel grab the snake in the middle, cross the ribbons twice, then fold the ribbons back up the the body of the snake and pinch the dough together.
Let the pretzels sit and rise for 30-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 475.
Fill a pot large enough to accommodate 2-3 pretzels at a time and fill halfway with water. Add the baking soda and bring to a low boil. A full rolling boil will be to hot.
Bake for 4 minutes at 475. Remove pretzels and turn oven down to 350.
Drop pretzels into boiling water in batches. Boil for 1 minute on each side.
Place boiled pretzels on baking sheet and brush with egg whites. Sprinkle salt over the pretzels. Bake for 15-25 minutes until pretzels are golden brown. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Ode to Banana Bread
My friend says she doesn't bake,
I'm afraid I can't relate.
It's a waste of time you say?
But what better way to spend a day!
Filling the oven full of treats,
Making the house smell so sweet.
And after all the mess and fun,
I enjoy a treat with my son.
I'm afraid I can't relate.
It's a waste of time you say?
But what better way to spend a day!
Filling the oven full of treats,
Making the house smell so sweet.
And after all the mess and fun,
I enjoy a treat with my son.
Banana Nut Bread
1 cup mostly melted butter
3-4 bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cap (2 tsp) vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
- Cream butter and sugar
- Add beaten eggs
- Cream bananas until fluffy
- Add fluffy bananas to the sugar mixture
- Add the baking soda and salt
- Stir in flour slowly
- Cream batter until it looks whippe
- Fold in chopped nuts or chocolate if using
- Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350° for 1 hour
Serve with whipped cream cheese or butter
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fruit and Vegies: An Experiment
I'm tremendously excited. Last week a flyer came in the mail, announcing the opening of a new company that will deliver fruit and vegetables as fresh from the farm as possible to my doorstep. I like the idea of buying farm-fresh a lot; not only is the quality and the nutritional content better, but the money goes more directly to where it's needed. So this idea really appealed to me.
I did a bit of market research, and found that this company doesn't have much competition; there are only one or two other services in my area, and they're either more expensive and commercial, or specialise in fruit. Now, I'm all for fruit, but we do eat a lot more vegetables in our house than fruit.
Tonight, the box of goodies arrived on my doorstep. As well as the standard small fruit and vegie box, which claims to be sufficient for 2-3 people for about a week, I also ordered some feta cheese (which is indeed straight from the farm), and some gourmet sourdough, sourced from a local independent bakery.
In order to decide whether or not this box of goodness is actually worth it or not, my husband and I are going to do an experiment over the next few weeks. We're going to consciously test out fresh food sourced from this fruit delivery place (delivered to the door), from the local supermarket chain (5 mins away), from the discount supermarket (3 mins away), and from the Sunday food markets (30 mins away).
While cost is definitely an important factor, it won't be the be-all and the end-all. Taste and quality are important, too, as is the ability of presumably fresher food to keep for longer than not-so-fresh food. Each week, I'll make a list of the produce we have, and I'll note how long it lasts - both in terms of before it spoils, and before it runs out! And at the end of the four weeks, hopefully we should have a better understanding of where we can go in our area for really great food.
After all, don't we all want to eat really great food? :)
I did a bit of market research, and found that this company doesn't have much competition; there are only one or two other services in my area, and they're either more expensive and commercial, or specialise in fruit. Now, I'm all for fruit, but we do eat a lot more vegetables in our house than fruit.
Tonight, the box of goodies arrived on my doorstep. As well as the standard small fruit and vegie box, which claims to be sufficient for 2-3 people for about a week, I also ordered some feta cheese (which is indeed straight from the farm), and some gourmet sourdough, sourced from a local independent bakery.
In order to decide whether or not this box of goodness is actually worth it or not, my husband and I are going to do an experiment over the next few weeks. We're going to consciously test out fresh food sourced from this fruit delivery place (delivered to the door), from the local supermarket chain (5 mins away), from the discount supermarket (3 mins away), and from the Sunday food markets (30 mins away).
While cost is definitely an important factor, it won't be the be-all and the end-all. Taste and quality are important, too, as is the ability of presumably fresher food to keep for longer than not-so-fresh food. Each week, I'll make a list of the produce we have, and I'll note how long it lasts - both in terms of before it spoils, and before it runs out! And at the end of the four weeks, hopefully we should have a better understanding of where we can go in our area for really great food.
After all, don't we all want to eat really great food? :)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Brown Bread Blueberry Crumble
This is something I made aaages ago one night when we felt like something sweet, had some bread that needed using as was too good to waste by freezing, and didn't have much else in the house :D
The Recipe
450g (1 large packet) frozen blueberries
2 tblspn caster sugar
3-4 tblspn water
1c fresh brown bread crumbs
1/2c brown sugar (preferably dark)
1/4c plain flour
about 75g butter or margarine (I just used 2 large tablespoon-scoops)
Put the blueberries, sugar and water in a pot and simmer for I think 12? minutes. Meanwhile, put all the other ingredients together in a bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients using only your fingertips until crumbs form.
Transfer the blueberries to an oven-proof dish. Top with the crumbs and bake at 180C (350F) for 10-15 mins until the topping is crisp and browned.
Serve hot or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
The Results
This was an interesting mix of savoury and sweet. It was definitely a dessert, but the brown bread crumbs added an interesting savoury undertone. I'd highly recommend this for people like my husband who aren't too fond of over-sweet dishes.
The Recipe
450g (1 large packet) frozen blueberries
2 tblspn caster sugar
3-4 tblspn water
1c fresh brown bread crumbs
1/2c brown sugar (preferably dark)
1/4c plain flour
about 75g butter or margarine (I just used 2 large tablespoon-scoops)
Put the blueberries, sugar and water in a pot and simmer for I think 12? minutes. Meanwhile, put all the other ingredients together in a bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients using only your fingertips until crumbs form.
Transfer the blueberries to an oven-proof dish. Top with the crumbs and bake at 180C (350F) for 10-15 mins until the topping is crisp and browned.
Serve hot or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
The Results
This was an interesting mix of savoury and sweet. It was definitely a dessert, but the brown bread crumbs added an interesting savoury undertone. I'd highly recommend this for people like my husband who aren't too fond of over-sweet dishes.
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