two loaves of simple bread
mostly for my own notes. makes two fair-sized loaves of tasty bread.
basic ingredients:
4.5 cups of flour
3/8 to 1/2 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
~2 1/2 cups water (or water + soy/milk)
variations on a theme:
brown sugar, or honey heated and mixed with the water
good vanilla
for sweet: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg. fresh ginger. a little extra sugar.
for savory: chopped rosemary flowers (purple and tasty!), other fresh or dried herbs, chopped fine. cheeeeese.
either/both: sesame or walnut oil. rosemary and honey would likely be good. chopped pecans could go either sweet or savory. i'd experiment with pecan or almond meal if it weren't so pricey. oats/oatmeal might be a good way to get a similar flavor, and maybe a slightly denser bread. i wonder if adding squashes or sweet potato to the dough would work at all. (mmmm, sweet potato waffles...)
basic recipe:
mix all the dry stuff. add in the wet stuff, stir that around until it's all mixed together. cover, set aside in a warm spot for 12-18 hours. scrape the very sticky bubbly dough out onto a floured surface, divide with a sharp knife and well-floured hands. pat a bit more flour on top. fold each half over itself a few times, then cover loosely & let them rest for a little while while you wash the bowl. put each half into a lightly oiled bowl, cover again, and let them rise for an hour or two. heat the oven to 450F with two loaf pans and a largish dish of water inside. when the oven's good and hot and the dough is good and re-risen, dump each half of the dough into a loaf pan. shake it or poke at it to spread it evenly if you want an even sort of loaf. cover with foil, then put the pans back into the oven. bake ~30 minutes, remove the foil, bake for another ~15 minutes. pull the bread out when it's all golden brown and tasty-lookin'. set the loaves to cool on a wire rack. if you like butter, run a stick of butter along the top of the loaf; if it's a sweet bread, you can sprinkle cinnamon-sugar or the like on the top as well. when it's cooled enough, slice it and eat it, because you've got hot fresh homemade bread and it's damn good eats.
basic ingredients:
4.5 cups of flour
3/8 to 1/2 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
~2 1/2 cups water (or water + soy/milk)
variations on a theme:
brown sugar, or honey heated and mixed with the water
good vanilla
for sweet: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg. fresh ginger. a little extra sugar.
for savory: chopped rosemary flowers (purple and tasty!), other fresh or dried herbs, chopped fine. cheeeeese.
either/both: sesame or walnut oil. rosemary and honey would likely be good. chopped pecans could go either sweet or savory. i'd experiment with pecan or almond meal if it weren't so pricey. oats/oatmeal might be a good way to get a similar flavor, and maybe a slightly denser bread. i wonder if adding squashes or sweet potato to the dough would work at all. (mmmm, sweet potato waffles...)
basic recipe:
mix all the dry stuff. add in the wet stuff, stir that around until it's all mixed together. cover, set aside in a warm spot for 12-18 hours. scrape the very sticky bubbly dough out onto a floured surface, divide with a sharp knife and well-floured hands. pat a bit more flour on top. fold each half over itself a few times, then cover loosely & let them rest for a little while while you wash the bowl. put each half into a lightly oiled bowl, cover again, and let them rise for an hour or two. heat the oven to 450F with two loaf pans and a largish dish of water inside. when the oven's good and hot and the dough is good and re-risen, dump each half of the dough into a loaf pan. shake it or poke at it to spread it evenly if you want an even sort of loaf. cover with foil, then put the pans back into the oven. bake ~30 minutes, remove the foil, bake for another ~15 minutes. pull the bread out when it's all golden brown and tasty-lookin'. set the loaves to cool on a wire rack. if you like butter, run a stick of butter along the top of the loaf; if it's a sweet bread, you can sprinkle cinnamon-sugar or the like on the top as well. when it's cooled enough, slice it and eat it, because you've got hot fresh homemade bread and it's damn good eats.