With the arrival of unusually cold weather, it seemed like a good time for baking bread. If you enjoy the taste and smell of home-made bread, but don't have much time, the dinner rolls are a good choice. They can be mixed and ready to serve in just under 1 1/2 hours. If, however, you have some time, we highly recommend making Bill's Bread or the cinnamon loaves.
Our long time friends, Sandra and Bill Cole shared Bill's Bread recipe with us. Bill's refinement of his original recipe turns out a wonderful, dense bread that toasts well and is also a great beginning for sandwiches. The smell of this bread rising and baking is worth the effort. We will admit, though, that we enjoyed it even more when we were neighbors and Bill would unexpectedly show up at our door with a loaf of bread still warm from the oven - certainly the easiest way to get home-made bread.
Bill makes 5 loaves of bread with this recipe - we sometimes make 4.
Ingredients:
In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients and mix until smooth. Add oil and maple extract, set mixture aside. After "gruel" has cooled, add the rye and whole wheat flours, walnuts and wheat germ.
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, proof the yeast by combining with the water and sugar. When bubbly, add yeast mixture to the bowl. Add enough all- purpose flour to give a solid dough consistency (7-8 Cups). Form into a ball and knead at least 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to maintain consistency. In large bowl, roll the ball in just enough oil to evenly coat the surface. Cover and allow to rise in warm place to double its size.
When doubled, punch down the dough, divide into 4 or 5 equal parts. Shape into elongated rolls and place into 4 or 5 greased bread pans (8 1/2 X 4 1/2 x 2 1/2). Allow to rise to loaf size. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and "hollow" when tapped. Remove from pans and cool. Optional - for a soft top crust, brush warm loaves with butter. Makes 4 or 5 loaves.
This traditional cinnamon bread recipe not only freezes, but travels well, to which our out-of-town children can attest.
Ingredients:
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. In food processor fitted with dough blade, place flour, butter and salt into work bowl. Process until butter is cut into mixture. With machine running, pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube. With machine still running, pour cold water through tube in a steady stream until absorbed by flour. When the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a ball, continue processing for 60 seconds.
With floured hands, remove dough from bowl and place into greased bowl and roll to lightly coat. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon - set aside. Punch dough down and divide into 3 equal pieces. Press each piece into a rectangle (8 x 16) and sprinkle heavily with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal. Place loaves in greased bread pans (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2). Cover and let rise until the loaf rises above the rim of the pan. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake loaves for 30-35 minutes, or until golden. Makes 3 loaves.
We can't provide the exact reference, but this recipe came from a 1960's Betty Crocker cookbook that we gave away. While in a store downtown, we overheard a visitor to Charleston who was looking for a copy of this out-of-print book as a gift for her daughter. Since we no longer used the book, we offered to ship it to her. She kindly reciprocated with an Amish cookbook from her hometown.
Ingredients:
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, half of flour and salt to yeast mixture. Beat with spoon until smooth. Add egg and shortening. Add remaining flour and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double (about 30 minutes).
Grease 12 muffin cups. Stir down raised dough. Spoon into muffin cups, filling 1/2 full. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Cover and let rise until dough reaches top of cups (20-30 mins). Preheat oven to 400°. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 rolls.
 |
Back to the Cooking Table of Contents |
This Website is maintained by
