Simple Artisan Bread

This is one of Natalie's favorite breads.  It isn't hard to make at all, just need to have your time planned.

Ingredients-

Bread flour - 425g (plus a little for dusting)

2 tsp Rapid Rise yeast 

2 tsp coarse salt

360 ml tap water

What to do-

• In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the cool water and gently mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can.

• Cover the bowl of dough tightly with plastic wrap and set on the counter at room temperature.  Allow to rise for 3 hours.  The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.

• Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet with flour (or use parchment paper that can withstand high heat). Turn the cold dough out onto a floured work surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough in half. Some air bubbles will deflate as you work with it. Place dough halves on prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, shape into 2 long loaves about 9×3 inches each (doesn’t have to be exact) about 3 inches apart. Loosely cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet. 

• During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C).

• When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the bread loaves with 3 slashes, about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)

• For a slightly crispier crust: Add a cast iron skillet to the bottom of the oven as it preheats. Carefully and quickly pour 4 cups of boiling water into it. Place the scored dough/baking pan on a higher rack and quickly shut the oven, trapping the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.

• Place the shaped and scored dough in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Gently tap the loaves– if they sound hollow, the bread is done.

• Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nana's Raisin Bread

This is a family traditional Christmas-time recipe that just the smell of this bread baking stirs so many wonderful memories to fill my heart.  Great memories of sitting in the picture window of 34 Graystone Lane, Levittown, Pennsylvania as my Nana sliced and buttered raisin bread to eat with our hot tea.  Also the memories of my mother’s kitchen with her mother-in-law supervising the kneading and baking of the bread.  These two women were extreme influences of who I am today because of the love they showed me. (If it weren’t for that great love they’d killed me long ago!)  

This raisin bread recipe was always used at some point during the Christmas season.  My cousins in the north know this bread as "kern bread" shortened from "currant bread" that it was originally made with. We didn’t leave milk and cookies for Santa when I was growing up; we plated raisin bread with eggnog! Christmas breakfast almost always included sliced kern bread around the tree while opening gifts. 

The aroma this bread distributes while baking in the house is absolutely heavenly.  This bread recipe is an ALL-DAY work of love, maybe which is why it tastes so wonderful! 

The ingredients:

5lb bag all purpose flour

½ lb light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp for yeast mixture

1 Tbsp salt

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1 heaping tsp allspice

1 heaping tsp ground cloves

½ cup of molasses

½ cup of milk

2 Tbs instant coffee

3 packs dry yeast (rapid rise)

1½ lbs raisins

3 eggs

4 cups water, divided  (1½ for yeast, 2½ for dough)

1 cup of Crisco shortening

The Directions:

1.     Soak raisins in a large bowl with hot tap water for 30 minutes then drain.

2.    In a small bowl put yeast a teaspoon of sugar and 1½ cup of water (check yeast instructions for water temp - usually 110-120) Let this sit for about five minutes.  It should begin foaming if the yeast is active.

3.    In large mixing bowl pour half of the flour, and mix in other dry ingredients making a hole in the middle of the flour.

4.    Add 2½ cups water, eggs, milk, shortening and yeast mixture.

 

5.    Add flour and raisins a little at a time. (an extra set of hands will reduce the mess) Mix by hand- squeezing, turning, folding, swirling - until it won’t stick to fingers.  At this point I move it to a lightly floured surface and continue to work the dough folding, and pushing away, then quarter turn and repeat until the dough is springy to touch. Form into a ball and place in a grease bowl

6.    Cover bowl and keep warm until doubles in size (about 2½ to 3 hours).  This seems a long rise for bread, but due to all the fruit, and other ingredients the yeast needs more time to work. I use my oven on PROOF setting, but sometimes use my laundry room when washing with hot water and drying towels. The small room stays warm.

7.   When the dough has doubled, punch it down in the bowl to flatten out the air.  Pour out onto a lightly floured surface.  It's important to NOT knead at this point, but to press the dough down. It's okay to fold it once or twice, and press down, not the kneading motion as earlier.  Now, cut into separate loaf sizes, then roll into loaves and place into greased and floured pans.

8.    Cover with plastic wrap (spray the bread side with non-stick spray) and let rise to double in size again. (about an hour)

9.    Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes.  Remove from pans and spread tops with Crisco or Margarine.  Make sure you have an oven thermometer to set or hang inside the oven.  (Every make and model heats differently and changes over time.  I have over cooked one batch due to the control setting and actual heat not matching by about 40 degrees!)

10. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before slicing.

    

Enjoy!

Basic White Bread

After playing with several recipes and techniques, I think I have found my favorite basic white bread recipe for our home at this point. Although, I'm still a very novice baker, I am learning and improving each time I bake.  I have noticed that the recipes work better when weighing out the flour versus measuring cups.  One of the European bread recipes I tried explained that different flours result in variable weight per cup.  Taking that advice, about 5oo grams of flour works well for bread and all-purpose flours per loaf.  This recipe is a combining of a couple of those and a touch of my own development added. 

It's simple.  It's very basic in that it only has four ingredients.  Most importantly, it tastes wonderful.

Ingredients- (yields 1 loaf)

500g    bread flour  (I have used bread flour and all-purpose and both work)

7g         instant yeast

1½       cups warm water (distilled works best at 100-110 degrees)

1            tsp salt  (fine sea salt)

*Optional:

2            Tbsp butter (melted to brush the top for the last five minutes of baking)

Directions-

Weigh out your flour.  Add it and the salt into mixing bowl.  In a small bowl add the warm water and then the yeast.  Allow to sit for a few minutes to activate.  Create a hole in the flour and add the liquid.

Begin incorporating the flour and liquid.  As it starts to come together, I put it under my Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook and allow it to do all the kneading.  If you don't have a mixer, place on a lightly floured surface and begin kneading the dough thoroughly.  

When blended smooth, place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea cloth and allow to proof for 2 hours of until it doubles in size.  

Once doubled, dump onto a lightly floured surface again.  Stretch and pull a few times to shape into a football shape, and place into a greased bread tin.  

Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray and allow to rise again for about thirty minutes.

Place into a preheated oven (350F) for one hour.  Remove, and brush top with melted butter and return to oven for five minutes.  

Remove from oven and tin.  Place on a wire rack until completely cooled.   Store in an airtight container. (I save store bought bags for my own bread.)

*** As an alternative to traditional bread tins, pull and stretch the dough into a ball.  Spread some rolled oats onto a baking stone, and place the ball over the oats.  Allow to proof for thirty minutes then slash with a sharp knife and bake at 450F for thirty minutes.  (butter the top and bake for five more minutes)

Enjoy 

Homemade Potato Bread

Freshly sliced potato bread with Kerrygold Irish butter

When you make mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes, you always prepare a little extra.  An extra baked potato makes a wonderful breakfast of hash browns the next morning, and a cup of extra mashed potatoes is all that is needed to make a couple loaves of wonderful potato bread!

This potato bread recipe comes from Grit- Country Skills Series, "Guide to Home Baking" which was given to me while visiting family for Christmas in Ohio.

Ingredients:

6 cups bread flour, divided, plus extra for dusting
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
2 Tbsp instant yeast
2 cups very hot water (130-140 degrees)
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp oil (optional)


Directions-
    Using a mixer with a bread hook ( I use a Kitchen Aid ), add four cups of flour, the salt and the yeast to the mixing bowl and give it a few spins on low to blend. Next lift the hook, and make a hole in the middle of the flour.
    Add potatoes, honey, and the hot water into the hole you made. Stir the mixture a bit with a spatula to blend with the flour.  (This keeps the flour from exploding out of the mixing bowl- some lessons are learned while you undertake a huge clean-up...) Once the flour is incorporated, lower the hook and begin on the first blending level for a minute or so, then turn it up to level #4 or a knead setting. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes.

     Next add the remaining 2 cups of flour, again incorporate the flour and dough somewhat before turning the mixer back on. (Remember - you don't want a flour cloud in the kitchen) Start mixer back up at the first blending level for a minute, then back to knead, or #4 for another 5 minutes or so.  The dough should be coming together.  You want it to be moist, yet firm.  If the dough is still adherent to the sides of the mixing bowl, stop the mixer and drizzle some oil around the sides of the bowl.  This will aid in dumping the dough out as well.
    * As the mixer runs, prepare your area for allowing the dough to rise.  I have had the best success in using my oven. Right before placing the dough in, add a pan/bowl of very hot water (for moisture), and set the oven to the lowest temp possible. (150 on mine)  I only allow the oven to heat for a couple of minutes - not all the way to 150! Place the dough in and cover with a damp tea cloth or lightly cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray. (I prefer the damp tea cloth)
    Once the dough comes together, dump it into a greased bowl forming it into a ball/round shape. (Metal mixing bowl works fine)  Place the dough in the oven, or other place to rise until it doubles and is puffy. This will depend on the temp, humidity, and elevation of where you are.  It could take as little as thirty minutes or up to an hour.  (Some cases even longer)
    After it has risen, turn the dough out onto a floured kneading area. (I use a large floured plastic cutting board, but would like to get a wooden one)  Knead the dough several turns adding a bit of flour as needed until it smooth, and doesn't stick.
    Use a sharp knife and cut the dough in half as evenly as possible.  Take each half and pat out into an oval shape (about an 8x10 area).  Slightly stretching the dough a bit, roll into a fat loaf. Place each rolled loaf into well greased and floured bread pan (9x5) and cover with greased plastic wrap. (I sprayed it with cooking spray)
    Replace the pan of very hot water back in the oven. Slightly warm the oven again if needed, and place the pans in the oven for the second rise.  Allow the loaves to rise and double in size.
    While the loaves rise, check periodically for large bubbles appearing on top.  If they do, pinch them to avoid a burn blister when baking.  Just before the rise is complete, slash the top of each loaf slightly across the top in one or two places.
 

When the rise is complete, take the loaves and water pan out of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Once the oven is ready, bake the loaves for about 50 minutes or until they're a nice dark-golden brown.  A thermometer inserted into the side should read at least 190 degrees.

Remove the loaves immediately from the pans, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.  Don't cut loaves until they are cooled to room temperature.

ENJOY!