Next, I’ll be churning butter while wearing an attractive bonnet.
A few months ago a friend gave us a simple recipe for baking your own bread - no fancy mixers or machines required. Yeast breads can have a mind of their own in terms of their needs and desires, but this recipe seems fairly foolproof. I’ve made it close to a dozen times at this point, and while each time it’s worked, I’m now starting to get a feel for all of its eccentricities; little things that can make a difference.
I’m posting the recipe here not because I’m sure my trillions of followers (ha) will be interested, but because my current hardcopy is covered in flour and oil and I’m afraid I’m going to lose it. Hopefully one day I’ll be like one of those big-armed mennonite women who just know how to make bread, like they know how to breathe. Not there yet though.
Easy Bake Bread
Mix together in a small bowl or ramekin:
¼ cup boiling water
¼ cup cool water
Stir in 1 tsp of sugar
Sprinkle 2 tsp of yeast over sugar/water mixture. Set aside for 10 minutes.
While the yeast is activating, in a large-ish bowl mix together:
2 cups of warm water
1 ½ tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 ½ tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
Add the yeast – it should be nice and foamy.
Add 2 cups of flour
With a wooden spoon or your hands, blend the ingredients together to create an elastic batter.
Add an additional 4 cups of flour, blending in 1 cup at a time.
Once a majority of the flour is mostly combined, dump the mixture onto a floured surface and knead until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is an even consistency (slightly moist but not too sticky).
Place dough back in bowl and cover with slightly damp tea towel, or seal with plastic wrap.
Put your bowl in a dark, warm place. If it fits, I recommend the microwave.
Let it rise for an hour or until it roughly doubles in size. Punch it down gently a few times.
Let it rise for another hour. Punch again.
Let it rise one more time, for roughly 45 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Place each half in a greased loaf pan.
Let rise in pan for just a few minutes (as the oven preheats)
Put loaf pans into a 400F oven for 15 minutes.
Turn down temp. to 375F and continue baking for an additional 30-35 minutes
Transfer bread from loaves to cooling rack.
Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.