With the recent change in the weather, we realized that we hadn't baked any bread lately and it seemed like a good time to get started again. We, like many people, have had our yeast-related disasters over the years. There was the dough that didn't appear to be rising and was finally tossed into the trash and a new batch was started. Several hours later, the first batch was discovered, rising quite nicely in the trash can, pushing garbage out of its path. Of course, that problem was similar to the refrigerator dough (a large quantity of it) that completely exploded from the plastic wrap, looking like an alien life form, when the power went off for a number of hours. We won't even get into the number of times we tried to make a bread starter from grapes (we never got it to work). In spite of the occasional disaster, we are usually very pleased with our bread making efforts and hope you will try some of the recipes included in this column. Each recipe takes advantage of either a food processor or bread machine, thus cutting down on the actual processing time.
Ingredients:
Combine water, sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve yeast and let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Combine 1/3 cup milk, 2 TBS butter and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until just warm (105° -115°). Butter may not melt completely. Remove from heat.
Fit the food processor with a steel blade. Measure the flour into the work bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Process on/off until mixed, about 5 seconds. Turn on the processor and add milk through the feed tube. Process until mixed, about 30 seconds. If necessary, add more of the remaining milk to make a very soft dough. Cover the processor and let dough stand in work bowl at room temperature for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, mix walnuts, remaining 2 TBS butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 10 inch square, and spread the walnut mixture over the dough. Roll up dough jelly roll fashion. Pinch the seam to seal and arrange in a circle on a large greased cookie sheet. Pinch the ends of the dough together to seal. With scissors, cut 2/3 of the way through the ring at 3/4 inch intervals, leaving the center of the ring intact. Gently lay each section on its side, cut side up to show filling. Brush with oil, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Heat oven to 375°. Let ring stand at room temperature for 15 minutes prior to baking. Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes one coffee cake.
Ingredients:
Place all ingredients in a bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the dough cycle. Grease a large cookie or jelly roll pan. When the dough is finished, remove from the machine. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Pat or press into a 12 inch circle on the pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes or almost double.
Heat oven the 400°. Prick the dough with a fork at 1 inch intervals. Brush with additional olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes one foccacia.
Ingredients:
Combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve yeast and let stand until bubbly, about five minutes. Fit the food processor with a steel blade. Measure the flour, butter and salt into the work bowl. Process about 15 seconds, or until mixed. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and process until blended, about 10 seconds. With the processor running, very slowly drizzle enough buttermilk through the feed tube to form a soft ball that cleans the sides of the bowl. Process until the ball turns around the bowl about 25 times. Turn off the processor and let the dough stand for 2-3 minutes. Turn on the processor and gradually drizzle in enough remaining buttermilk to make a soft, satiny dough. Process until dough turns around the bowl about 15 times.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough. Shape into a loaf and fit into a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Heat oven to 375°. Bake the loaf until golden, about 25-30 minutes. Remove immediately from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes one loaf.
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