it will come back buttered.”
-Louise May Alcott
I recently found a *fabulous* bread recipe that is basically a no-fail recipe. I was so impressed with this recipe and the results.
Recently, the girls & I read a book where a young girl baked bread for her family and eventually received some customers to buy her bread from a local bank! Lacey was inspired! I guessed that this particular bread recipe would be a great one for the girls – Lacey, in particular – to learn.
She tried out our new recipe this weekend and was very successful. It is always encouraging for a project to turn out and not fail, especially since we are cooking on the cookstove.
If you are looking for a fabulous bread recipe to add to your kitchen, this is it. I have tried many recipes but this is hands down my favorite. It slices fabulously for sandwiches, as well. You can lessen the sugar or add more if you want to adjust the sweetness of the bread.
Here is the recipe from Jenny Can Cook:
2 cups of whole wheat flour (if you wish, you may just use regular flour)
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of instant yeast
2 tablespoons of sugar1 tablespoon of salt
1 cup of milk, warmed up
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 egg (at room temperature)
- Place flours, yeast, sugar & salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in milk, followed by oil and egg.
- Beat on high for 2 minutes or hand knead about 100 x.
- In the mixer, on low speed add about 1/4 cup bread flour until dough forms a mass. If you are doing this by hand, I literally just place everything in one bowl, mix and knead about 100 times.
- Place dough on floured surface and knead 50 turns.
- Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
- Shape dough into a loaf and place in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
- Cover and let rise in a warm spot until it’s one inch taller than the pan, about 35 minutes. {We used the warming drawer above the wood cookstove. I love that drawer! It is incredibly handy!}
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Bake for 30 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, I cover the top of the loaf with a foil tent to prevent over-browning.
A little note, as we baked this in the wood cookstove. We did not bring the oven temperature up to 375 but baked it at 300. It still worked just fine although we did allow it to remain in the oven for a bit longer than the allotted time. We simply watched the bread carefully to ensure it was not burning.
{A later Edit: I have since changed my recipe. I no longer use the milk or egg as that just seemed like too much extras for the bread. It also adds up when you are baking daily or at least a few times a week. I also only hand knead and do not use a mixer. Instead of milk, I just use water. The egg is not replaced in any way. The bread has worked every time.}
What could be better than a hot simmering pot of homemade soup and some delicious homemade bread?
by Gigi
6 comments