Bread for dinner. Yummy-ness for sure. Here goes the recipe found in a book I'm reading:
Dissolve 1/2 a packet of yeast (which measures out to be one tablespoon) in 2-1/4 cups warm water. Stir in 1 T. sugar. In large bowl, measure out about 5 cups of flour. Add liquid. Stir well and turn out on floured surface. Knead in more flour until you reach a total of about 6-7 cups. (I used 6) While kneading, work in 1 T. salt (I used sea salt) Work it for about 10 minutes, oil a bowl well and put smooth ball of dough into bowl. Cover with damp tea towel and set aside in cool place for 2 hours.
After time's up, form dough into two ovals on greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise for 2 hours more. (The book's recipe calls for spritzing the loaves before baking, but I didn't want a hard crust. It was fine without that step.) Then bake at 425 degrees for about 1/2 an hour. A hearty pair of loaves....very firm and my husband said it was more meaty than plain old white homemade bread. Dense. And yummy. :)
There is no oil or shortening in the recipe. And 1/2 of what you might ordinarily use in terms of yeast. The lesser amount of yeast, plus the longer rising time gives a different texture. Well worth the wait. And adding the salt at the end makes the dough work against you...making it harder to knead...something to do with what's happening to the gluten. Very different than how I'm used to doing bread, but love the changes. I'll be making this again.
Dissolve 1/2 a packet of yeast (which measures out to be one tablespoon) in 2-1/4 cups warm water. Stir in 1 T. sugar. In large bowl, measure out about 5 cups of flour. Add liquid. Stir well and turn out on floured surface. Knead in more flour until you reach a total of about 6-7 cups. (I used 6) While kneading, work in 1 T. salt (I used sea salt) Work it for about 10 minutes, oil a bowl well and put smooth ball of dough into bowl. Cover with damp tea towel and set aside in cool place for 2 hours.
After time's up, form dough into two ovals on greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise for 2 hours more. (The book's recipe calls for spritzing the loaves before baking, but I didn't want a hard crust. It was fine without that step.) Then bake at 425 degrees for about 1/2 an hour. A hearty pair of loaves....very firm and my husband said it was more meaty than plain old white homemade bread. Dense. And yummy. :)
There is no oil or shortening in the recipe. And 1/2 of what you might ordinarily use in terms of yeast. The lesser amount of yeast, plus the longer rising time gives a different texture. Well worth the wait. And adding the salt at the end makes the dough work against you...making it harder to knead...something to do with what's happening to the gluten. Very different than how I'm used to doing bread, but love the changes. I'll be making this again.
