Bread, Bread, Bread!

I have been in a baking frenzy for my 4H project which is due next Tuesday. On Wednesday, I made basic white bread(from a mix that I demonstrated to my club how to make) and today I made a garden herb loaf. Both turned out really well and taste great. They were the last two recipes that I had to make for my bread baking project, but I will have to make one of the recipes again for judging. I also I been working on my cake decorating project, which is also due on Tuesday, by practicing with piping techniques and making gum paste flowers. I’m not sure what I am going to bake next, but I know tomorrow I am going to be helping out at  a food kitchen, so who knows?

~thechildcooks

Basic White Bread Mix

Contains:

3 ½ cups flour(bag contains 2 ¼ cups)

1 package yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Needed:

½ cup warm water

½ cup warm milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Additional flour for board and grease for bowl

To make:

In mixing bowl, pour contents of container and add the yeast package. Mix in warm water and warm milk(120-130 degrees Fahrenheit) and add oil. Blend at low speed until moistened, then bead 3 minutes at medium speed. Gradually add the flour from the separate bag until a stiff dough is formed. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning greased side up, to rise, covered, in warm place for 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat the dough into a 14 by 7 inch rectangle. Starting with the shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing the dough into a roll with each turn. Pinch edges and end to seal. Place in a greased 9 by 5 inch baking pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until doubled. Bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool before slicing.

Yields 18 ½ inch slices

Garden Herb Loaf

4-4 1/2 cups flour

2 packets quick-rise yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and marjoram(I used 2 1/4 teaspoons of a Italian herb mix)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter plus 1 tablespoon

1 egg

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with the other dry ingredients. Heat the milk, water and 1/4 cup of butter to 120-130 degrees fahrenheit. Pour onto the dry mix and stir until incorporated. Add egg and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Cut into three equal parts and roll each piece into a 15 inch long rope. Braid and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise, covered, for 20-40 minutes more. Heat oven to 375F and bake for 20-30 minutes. Melt remaining butter and brush overtop sprinkling with additional herbs if desired. Cool on a wire rack.

Not Just White Bread

The recipe for Not Just White Bread from my 4-H book is a winner. The bread is light and tasty, not to mention easy to make. It is similar to the recipe for white bread in the Betty Crocker cookbook, but calls for making a sponge instead of mixing everything together at once. The method for shaping the loaves is also different, Not Just White Bread does not get rolled before placing into the pans, you just put it in. All in all, I will be making this recipe again.

For those of you wondering why I have not posted in a while, I am fine, I was just on vacation on the Atlantic coast. While there, I dicovered that eating crabs freshly steamed out of their shells seasoned with liberal amounts of Old Bay is awesome. I packed away about 36 in one sitting at an all you can eat place and it has enlightened me. I also visited two Indian restaurants where I stuffed myself with deliciousness. My father told me, that this summer, we might have a seafood boil similar to the east coast steam pots. It was really relaxing to be on vacation, but I missed baking in m kitchen and need to make up for lost time. Tomorrow, I plan on making graham crackers, in order to start experimenting for the best s’mores. Hope you all are have a good summer!

~thechildcooks

Not Just White Bread

Yeast Breads on the Rise

Sponge

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 package active dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

Dough

1 cup warm milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

5 cups all-purpose flour

Use a large bowl to make the sponge. Measure the water and 2 tablespoons sugar into the bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir until smooth. Beat in the 2 cups flour by hand until the mixture is smooth. Let the mixture rise in a warm place until light and spongy, about 1 hour.

While the sponge is rising, combine sugar, salt, and shortening with warm milk, cool to room temperature.

Stir the sponge down when light and spongy and sitr in the milk mixture. Stir in additional flour until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn dough onto a lightly floured boar and knead until smooth, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add small amounts of flour while kneading if dough is too sticky.

Place in a greased bowl and brush with shortening. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Punch down and turn out on a lightly floured board. Divide in half, let rest 15 to 20 minutes.

Shape dough into two loaves and place in greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Cover, let rise in a warm place until the center is slightly higher than the edge of the pan, about 1 hour.

Bake at 400F about 50 minutes. Remove from pan and cool.