Money Saving Yet Quick Tips
Source of Recipe
BBR
Recipe Introduction
Posted by: Angielikes2cook_KY
List of Ingredients
I wore my bread machine out but this is what I used to do. I took one day and plopped several recipes on the table along iwth all the dry ingredients I would need to make them. I would fill 15 to 20 bags with the dry ingredients and label what recipe it was so I could add the wet later. When I wanted to make the bread I pulled out a bag and only had to add the wet ingredients. I was done in less than 5 mnutes with minimal fuss.
To start with, you need to use bread flour. It's labeled "Bread Flour" on the store shelves. Whatever you do, don't use just plain old flour, because what you get in the south is soft southern wheat and it doesn't rise worth a darn because it doesn't have enough gluten. That's why southerners eat biscuits, corn bread and cakes, no kidding. And your ingredients absolutely, positively, have to be room temp. I keep my flour in the freezer and my yeast in the fridge, so when I'm going to make bread, I take it out the night before.
Also, on the lowest shelf in your oven or actually sitting on the floor of your oven, you need a deep pie plate or a lasagne pan...some kind of deep but flat pan. Boil some water (just like in the movies when somebody's having a baby and the first thing they do is yell "Boil some water!). The deep pan is already in the oven. More about that in a minute.
Basic White Bread
Step 1:
In the large bowl of your electric mixer (or any large bowl if you're using a portable mixer), stir together until honey (or sugar) is dissolved:
2 cups very warm, but not hot, water
1/4 cup honey (you can use sugar in the same amount...I always use honey)
Sprinkle 2 pkgs dry yeast on top of the water. Let stand until foamy. Stir down and let foam again. This is called "proofing" the yeast. If it doesn't foam, the yeast is dead. Start over with yeast having a later expiration date.
Step 2:
Add:
1 TBSP salt
1/2 cup oil
3 cups Bread Flour
Mix slowly with mixer until all ingredients are moist, then beat at high speed for 8 minutes. Time it! 8 minutes. This can be a real PITA if you're using a portable hand mixer:( Beating it is what brings out the gluten.
Step 3:
Stir in:
3 cups Bread Flour
Stir until all the flour is mixed in. It will be stiff and seems like it won't all mix in, but be patient. This part needs to be done with a spoon so make sure that you're using a heavy wooden spoon or a real sturdy stainless one.
Once the flour is all mixed in, cover the bowl with a damp towel. Place the bowl on the middle rack of your cold oven. Pour the water that you boiled (and that's still very, very hot!) into the dish on the bottom rack or on the bottom of the oven. Close the oven door, and you've just created a warm, humid, draft-free environment for the dough to rise. Let the dough double in size and punch it down. I have learned that before I start punching it down, it's best to put some oil on my paws because the dough is sticky.
If you want a smooth and fine-textured loaf that slices well, let the dough rise again in the bowl. If you're gonna eat it right out of the oven or if you just plain don't have time to let it rise again, that's okay.
Dump the dough out of the bowl onto an oiled surface (a wooden surface works best for some reason). Divide the dough with a sharp knife into two sections for standard 9" bread pans or into three sections for the smaller 8" pans. Kneading the dough isn't be necessary because you've beaten it for 8 minutes.
Oil your hands and form each loaf by kneading very lightly. Fold in half and roll into shape, being careful that you don't roll any "bubbles" into it. Seal the seam by pinching, and place the loaf, seam down, into an oiled pan. The finished "raw" loaf will be smooth with no "cracks" in the dough. Brush the top with oil.
Arrange the pans on the middle rack of your oven and replenish the hot water on the bottom. Close oven door, and when the dough has filled out the sides of the pan and the top is just rounded, take the pan of water out of the oven and turn oven to 350ºF.
After 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 300ºF and bake the larger loaves for 40 minutes. If you're baking the smaller ones, they'll only take 25 to 30 minutes longer after the oven temp is turned down.
To see if the bread is completely done, turn the loaves out on a rack. If the sides spring back when you squeeze gently and the bottom and sides are nicely browned, the bread is done. If it's not done, put it back in the pans and bake a little longer. If it's not thoroughly done, that means the gases haven't all baked out, and it will be hard to digest.
If you're going to serve this still warm out of the oven, make sure you use a bread knife and a sawing motion to slice it! If you need to store the bread, you can keep it in plastic bags for a soft crust. If you want a crispy crust, leave it open to the air. Be sure it's totally cooled before storing!
If you overbake a little (by, say, five or 10 minutes), it's not going to hurt it.
Recipe
I've been making bread this way since the early 70s. It has never failed
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