This has been the go to book in my kitchen for decades. Unfortunately, this isn't my original copy of the book. I bought the first copy way back in the 80's. But somewhere along the line that copy grew legs. I don't like this edition as much I think it's an earlier printing. It still has all the conversion charts and general information. I just don't like the layout. But if you're new to cooking this book is a very wise investment. It's loaded with lots of basic food facts and general information. If you're a seasoned cook, it's got lots of interesting recipes. There's usually a couple of different editions of this book in the cooking section at the bookstore. There's usually a larger format hardbound version and you could probably find that and the paperback editions at most used bookstores.
But I digress...
Back to the bread.
I wasn't happy with that recipe. It had a good flavor, but all the batches were on the dry, crumbly side. I'm ultimately looking for a recipe that can be the daily bread and that recipe didn't hold up to slicing as well as I'd like. I've tried a few other recipes and none of them were quite right for my daily bread. The recipe was too complex or the flavor wasn't all it could be or the texture wasn't right, etc. I'm not asking for much, really. All I want is a recipe that doesn't require gadgets, a cooking degree from the Sorbonne, or a whole day to make. A bread with light fluffy texture, good taste, that stands up to slicing and toasting.
That's not really that much.
My Grandma made bread like that. I should be able to do it.
We're gonna sidetrack to a related topic, here. Cuz this is where a general style preference kicks in.
I don't do gadgets when cooking.
A. I can't afford them.
B. They take up too much space.
C. As I reaffirmed the last time I experimented with a food processor, the labor saving devise is time consuming. With the time it takes to setup and then clean said gadget, I coulda done it much easier and quicker the old fashioned way.
The fanciest I get gadget wise is a hand mixer. I learned how to bake from my Grandma. She rarely used even a mixer.
And maybe it's just me, but I find that most of the gadgets are way more work than a good knife. You pull it out of the drawer and it's ready to use. You rinse and wipe whit a sponge and it's clean. Learn how to handle a knife correctly and you'll wonder why you ever bothered with anything else, for the most part.
I do use a hand grinder for nuts and the like, and I have a little grater for shredding.
And with a nod towards reality, if you can't cook without the gadgets, you really can't cook. Go out to your kitchen, pretend you have no power and make a loaf of bread. If you can't do that, what are you gonna do when a storm knocks out the power?
Yes, the kitchen here is electric.
And we have a barbeque and a fire pit, not to mention fireplaces. I've got a dutch oven, I could still make a loaf of bread.
And the other thing about me that you should know when it comes to cooking, I don't follow directions, not exactly. For me, they are more guidelines. For example, when I make chocolate chip cookies, there's none of this 2 bowl crap. I ain't dirtying a second bowl just so I can mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet. It all gets thrown in one bowl. Just like Grandma used to do....
So I usually end up adapting recipes to my style.
This recipe I got off the web somewhere. I'm not sure where.
And I adapted it a bit.
I made it the first time the other night to accompany K's awesome chorizo corn chowder. For which I will get the recipe and post it here. The stuff was almost addictive.
Excellent meal for a cold day.
I was rushing and the batch got split into a bunch of oddly shaped loaf /rolls. But it couldn't have been too bad, cuz there wasn't much left when I finally thought to take a picture last night.
The consistency is a little on the dense side. But it had a good flavor. It sliced well, and it stood up to chunky peanut butter pretty well. Everybody liked it and we already have a list of variations and additions to try.
So I decided to give it another go.
I've found the basic recipe:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (Or one package)
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
1 egg
1/3 cup softened butter
And now it's time to pursue the perfect batch.
I gathered my supplies and equipment:
I set the oven and buttered my bowl.
I'm a butter believer. I don't do margarine. Colored plastic isn't my thing.
And I use a trick my Grandma taught me. I save the wrappers from the butter and use them to grease all the things that I'm called on to grease.
Like the bowl that the dough goes into to rise. There's usually enough butter left on the wrappers that 1 or 2 will butter just about anything. Just whip the wrappers around the bowl or pan and then toss. Saves time and money.
The first step is mix the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients together. So into the bowl goes 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast.
I buy yeast in a jar. It stays in the fridge and keeps for a very long time. I like the jar. If you are using the little packages, 2 1/4 teaspoons is one package.
Mix the sugar and the flour well, otherwise the flour will have a tendency to clump.
Next blend in 1/3 cup softened butter.
Make sure your butter is very soft, not melted but almost melted.
Now the recipe I was using was written for a bread mixer. As I said, I don't do gadgets. So this is where I really started changing things. The first time I used a hand mixer. But that's only gonna work through the 3rd cup of flour. So the second time I just used a wooden spoon to mix it up. I didn't notice any difference in the bread.
When the butter is well blended add 1 1/2 cups hot tap water.
The recipe called for the water as hot as it comes out of the tap. Out here our hot water is on the verge of scalding so I backed it off a little. You want it hot but not boiling or anything.
Add the egg and blend well.
Then add the last 2 cups flour.
The recipe said to let the mixer knead the dough for 10 mins. Since I wasn't using a bread mixer there's no way that was gonna happen. Kneading it by hand was a bit different.
This recipe makes a very wet, sticky dough. I added four when I was kneading, and did the best I could to keep the dough from sticking. I only kneaded it a minuet or two. I was afraid to overwork it.
After kneading I wrangled the dough into the buttered bowl, turned it to coat the dough, covered it, and left it to rise for 2 hours.
Our kitchen is a little on the cool side so I let it rise just a little longer.
Can't really tell from the picture, but it was about doubled in size.
Then I punched it down.
And turned it out onto a heavily floured board, and added in quite a bit more flour during the kneading and shaping.
I didn't work it too much, it was starting to feel a little rubbery.
For this try, I split the dough in half and put it into 2 greased loaf pans.
Cover and leave it to rise again, till it doubles in size.
The recipe called for a 350 degree oven, but didn't give a time for baking. All it said was just till the bread was starting to turn brown. Which means that I'm checking the bread every 5 mins. Next time I'm gonna let it go for 10 mins. before I check it the first time. Our oven is a little funky and I'm still trying to get used to it. Things cook a little unevenly, and it's best to shift things around during baking. I let these bake till they were a little browned. One loaf baked for about 18 mins. The second was in for about 22 mins.
Right out of the oven they looked and smelled pretty good.
Both had a good flavor.
But one of the loaves had an unbaked cave in the middle of the loaf.
I scraped all the unbaked dough out of the center and the rest of the loaf was fine.
The second loaf was fine.
Good flavor, fair texture, and it sliced well.
It made a very good PB&J.
So this run was a qualified success.
I think my Grandma would be proud.
Next time I'm not going to use the pans, and I'm not going to split the dough. I'm just gonna shape the whole batch into a loaf and bake it on a cookie sheet. I'm not going to keep opening the oven to check the color. I'm gonna plan on baking it for 20 mins. and play it by ear.
I'm also going to make a batch for our Thanksgiving dinner and try it as dinner rolls.
We're getting there. I think this is a recipe that would be good for daily bread. I've just gotta work out the kinks.
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