Bread Snobs

This year in an effort to save money I started the school year telling my kids they would have to take a home lunch at least a couple times a week.  Little did I know that they would discover that they LOVE home lunch way better than school lunch and now the fight has reversed--they want home lunch every single day.
This desire for home lunch created a whole new problem for me--the problem of the disappearing bread.  With everyone packing a lunch every day I'm going through a loaf every couple of days... which leads to my OTHER problem...
We are bread snobs.  It's Grandma Sycamore bread or bust for us... I have found a couple of noteworthy substitutions (Farm Bread runs a close second, with Dunford bread pulling up the rear) but other than that, we hate all other kinds of bread.  And with the price of that bread going up and up and up...well, let's just say we've been weeping over cheap imitation bread a lot these days. (No matter how much I like it, I refuse to pay $3 for a loaf of bread...)
So for the past couple of months I have been experimenting with making good sandwich bread.  All of the bread was good, but not necessarily good for sandwiches.  I have tried at least a dozen recipes and none have been exactly right.  So this last week I took the best parts of each recipe and combined them to try a recipe of my own... I'd hate to jinx it, but I think I've actually DONE IT!  (With 4 bread critics in my house, it's pretty easy to distinguish the success from the failure.)  Everyone has voted, and this is definitely the winner...It takes a little more time and patience than the other breads I have made, but it was definitely worth it.

THE PERFECT SANDWICH LOAF

 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 cups HOT water (about 125 degrees)
3 Tablespoons shortening

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer measure 2 cups flour, the sugar, salt, yeast, and dry milk.  Mix it well, then add the hot water and beat just until blended.  Add the shortening and beat until it has mixed in well, then add one cup of flour and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed.  Your mixture should be smooth and creamy looking.

Continue to add flour 1/4 cup at a time.  Take your time, letting the flour completely mix in before adding more.  The dough should form a soft, elastic ball that can be stretched without being sticky.  If the dough is too hard it will be hard to work with and dry when it's finished. (The perfect amount of flour for me was 5 1/4 cups each time with a sprinkle of flour added during kneading.)  Knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding sprinklings of flour if it starts to stick to the sides of the bowl.  When it's done, if you feel the dough is too hard, mix in a teaspoon of water.  If it's too wet or sticks to your hands, add a little flour.

 Grease a bowl and place your dough in it, turning to coat the top.   It should look smooth and soft.  Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature to rise for one hour (dough should double in size)
Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for a few minutes to work out any air bubbles, then slice it into two equal pieces with a sharp knife.  Shape each piece into a ball and allow it to rest for 3-4 minutes while you prepare your pans.

Spray or grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans.  Form each ball of dough into a loaf by pressing the ball into a flat oval.  Place it in the pans and gently press the dough into the corners of the pan with your fingers, making it as flat in the pan as possible for a more even loaf.
Cover the pans with wax paper and let rise again at room temperature until the dough is about an inch over the top of the pans--about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees--don't put the bread in until it has reached the right temperature!  Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes.  The loaves should be golden brown and sound hollow when you thump on them.

When the loaves are done baking, remove them from the oven but not from the pan.  Place the pans on a cooling rack close together and cover them with a heavy kitchen towel.  Wrap the pans, towel and all, in foil and allow to cool.  This makes the bread "sweat" so the crust (top and bottom) will be soft.  (NOTE: the towel is important because it will absorb any condensation that forms instead of leaving it sitting on the bread making it soggy.)  You can also choose to brush the tops with melted butter for a soft crust instead, but that leaves the bottom crust to get crunchy--not so great if you're making bread for sandwiches.

When the loaves are almost cool, you may want to remove them from the pans, wrap them completely in the towel and foil and let them finish cooling.  Store in bread bags or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to keep them fresh.

I {heart} bread

I have been on a MAJOR bread kick these last couple of weeks.... I just love bread!  I am completely convinced that if there is a hell, it will be just like heaven only there won't be any bread...or pastries.  I've been making so much bread, in fact, that one of my kids actually said "you need to slow down on the bread"...and then he proceeded to stuff his face with it.

Alas, my favorite bread that I have made is not my own recipe, but I really felt I had to share because it just wouldn't be right to keep it to myself.  I found it on one of my favorite blogs, Deals to Meals  and I even swiped her picture because mine just didn't look this good.  The bread is actually called Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and this picture is of the TO DIE FOR french toast that can be made with it (which I also did).  Scrumptious....there's nothing else to be said.

But don't feel like you HAVE to make the french toast...because the bread is good all by itself.  I'm just saying that you'll probably want to... you might even just want to call it dessert instead of breakfast.

 
So give it a go!  You'll be glad you did.  Here's the link:

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

And of course, you will need this recipe also...partly because it goes inside the bread, and partly because it's just plain yummy.  If you've ever had Texas Roadhouse's cinnamon butter, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Cinnamon Butter   

One interesting side note about the bread recipe... I baked it for the time stated in the recipe and it was not even CLOSE to done... Unfortunately I didn't realize this until I had pulled it out of the oven and sliced it open and saw raw dough in the middle.  All bread should basically sound hollow when you thump on it...so I would try that before assuming that it's done.  Next time (translated: tomorrow) I will probably bake it for at least 45 minutes.

New Year, New Recipes

I have begun the new year all motivated to try new recipes... (Notice I did NOT say I made a resolution to eat more healthy, although I really should).  I really need to cook more often and I get tired of the same old thing...so I've been on the hunt for new and delicious things.  So far, so good!
If you LOVE english muffins (which I do) then this is the recipe for you.  I have had the english muffin bread from the store bakery and I like it, but this is definitely better!  Not only is it delicious with a big, thick coating of butter and honey (or jam) but it also makes fabulous breakfast sandwiches.  Beware...you'll  be addicted!

ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD
2 cups milk
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornmeal (approx.)
6 cups flour
2 Tablespoons active, dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Grease 2 8x4 loaf pans and sprinkle the cornmeal inside.  Set aside.
Warm the milk and water together in a microwave safe bowl for about two minutes (little bubbles should appear around the edges.)  In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and soda.  Stir the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients slowly, then beat until it's mixed well.  Add the remaining flour one cup at a time.  (The finished product will look like a stiff cookie batter--NOT bread dough!  Don't add any extra flour!).
Spoon the batter (it will be stiff and sort of rubbery--that is normal) into the prepared pans and spread it evenly.  Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size.  Because of the yeast and baking soda it will rise pretty fast, so keep an eye on it.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  When the dough has reached about to the top of the pan, it's time to bake it.  Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Remove from the pans immediately and cool before slicing.
NOTE:  When I moved my bread into the oven, it appeared to "fall" and I thought I had lost all my leavening, but it was fine.  It poofed back up as much as necessary as it baked.  This bread is best when toasted (with LOTS of butter)

More Bananas...

Still have lots of bananas left... time to figure out what to do with them!  These muffins were delicious.  My only problem is that I needed a bigger muffin pan...

BANANA CARAMEL CRUMB MUFFINS
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 small to medium ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
TOPPING:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
 
Grease a 12 count muffin pan or line it with baking cups (if your muffin pan is shallow, baking cups are a good idea) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a separate bowl beat together the bananas, sugar and egg, then add the melted butter.  Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir just until moistened.  Spoon the batter into the muffin pan.
Mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together for the topping.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal.  Sprinkle the topping over the muffins.  The butter will caramelize in the oven...YUMMY!
Bake for 18-20 minutes.  The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Fall Food

One of the best things about living where the seasons change is getting to change what kind of food you cook.  I love fall the best, because by the time summer is over I am really ready for warm soups and stews... homemade breads and rolls... and just about anything that comes out of the oven.  I've been craving soup...so yesterday seemed like the perfect day to start!  And of course, soup is no good without some kind of bread or roll to go with it.

GLAZED CINNAMON TWISTS

1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
4 cups flour
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Put yeast in the warm water and sit it aside.  Meanwhile, mix the 1/4 cup butter, 3 Tbsp. sugar, egg and salt.  Heat the milk in the microwave until it's just barely warm (about 30 seconds) and add to the butter mixture and mix well.  Add one cup of flour and mix thoroughly, then add the yeast and water mixture.  Add the flour one cup at a time until mixed well.  The dough doesn't really need to be kneaded, but mix it until the flour is thoroughly incorporated and the dough is soft and smooth.  Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.  Put the dough in the bowl, turning it once so the top is coated with cooking spray too.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size.

Once the dough is doubled, roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle to about 1/2 inch thickness. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough into strips about 1/4 inch wide.

Using three strips at a time, braid the strips of dough.  The dough will stretch as you work with it, so when I'm done braiding I usually cut them in half so each braid was about 5 inches long.  

Place the braids on a greased baking sheet about 1/2-1 inch apart.

Pour or brush the melted butter over all the braids--be very liberal with the butter!  Mix the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.  Allow to rise for about an hour.








Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  The twists should be good and brown (not lightly golden brown) or they won't be cooked in the middle.  You may want to check the middles before deciding that they're finished.  Pour on the glaze while the twists are still hot.



GLAZE
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla (add another 1/2 tsp. in you're using imitation)
1/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together.  The glaze should be thick but you should still be able to pour it.

THE VERY BEST WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

I have really grown to love whole wheat bread over the last couple of years...especially when it's homemade, hot out of the oven and slathered in honey butter!  I have tried several recipes, but this is my new favorite, and it was pretty quick because it rises really fast.  If you're in a hurry, this is a great recipe to use... From the time I began until it was finished baking was only two hours.  I use Wheat Montana Prairie Gold 100% Whole Wheat (the only place I have found this is at Walmart...) Because it is white wheat, it is a little lighter than a typical whole wheat bread.  If you grind your own, that's great too, but I'm not that ambitious yet. This recipe makes 4 big loaves.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
7 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 Tablespoons yeast


Mix these three ingredients together, then add 5 cups hot water (120-130 degrees--it's hot, and it will be steaming.  I measured mine with a candy thermometer to get the right temperature.)  Mix for 1 minute with a mixer, then cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.


2 Tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
5 cups whole wheat flour


Add the salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice to the dough mixture and beat for one minute.  Add the last 5 cups of flour one cup at a time, mixing well between each cup.  Knead for an additional 6-10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  The dough will be soft.


Preheat the oven for one minute to warm and turn off.  Spray bread pans with cooking spray.  Spray your counter with cooking spray, and turn the dough out onto the counter; divide into four even pieces, shape into loaves and place in pans. Push the dough lightly into the corners of the pans and make the dough as even as possible..  Place pans in the warm oven and let rise until dough reaches the top of the pans (about 20-30 minutes).  DO NOT REMOVE BREAD FROM OVEN; turn oven to 350F and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from pans and rub tops lightly with butter to maintain a soft crust.  Cool on racks. 
Note:  The first time I made this, when I pulled it out of the pans it almost seemed like it was too soft, maybe a little doughy, and not quite done...but it was.  It was a very soft wheat bread.  That's what's so good about it!