Homemade Bread - Farmhouse White Sandwich

I posted on my facebook yesterday pictures of the bread I was making and a few asked if I would share the recipe, so I figured I would share it on here.

It's been so long since I baked bread or blogged for that matter. I have to say it felt so good to feel that dough in my hands.

I've been looking for a recipe that would hold up to sandwiches when we need a lunch for our homeschool field trips and co-op. The old recipe I used never did well. I haven't tested this one yet but I can already tell it is holding up well. It's a denser bread and has a lovely flavor.

I also love that she has the 3 loaf batch recipe. Let's face it, no one has time to bake fresh bread every morning. Although if you do, please let me know, because somehow there has to be a way that doesn't mean the alarm is going off at some ungodly hour before even King, my rooster, wakes up!

I have shared below how I followed the recipe and the tweaks I made. I didn't need as much flour as the original recipe called for. I also need longer proofing time. The key to bread making is PATIENCE! Also my recipe is only for 1 loaf, not the original 3. I baked mine at 360 instead of the 375 because my oven runs a little hotter. 

You can find the original recipe here at Farmgirl Fare. 

For you more visual learner Gather For Bread added a short video on their post of this recipe showing the steps.

Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread (1 loaf)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 Tablespoon yeast

2/3 Tablespoon sugar

2/3 Tablespoon melted butter

1 1/3 cup warm milk

1 1/2 cups (roughly) bread flour

1/2 Tablespoon of salt

Directions:

1. Mix together the all-purpose flour, yeast, and sugar. (This could be done in your Kitchen Aid mixer if you don't want the arm workout.)

2. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the melted butter then then milk.

3. Continue to mix, adding 1/2 cup of bread flour at a time, until you have added around 1 1/2 to 2 cups and have sticky, shaggy dough. 

4. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 20 minutes. 

5. Add the salt and 1/2 cup more of bread flour, depending on how sticky or dry it is. 

6. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it with floured hands until the dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes. If you need to sprinkle with flour, do so. You want a soft dough not a sticky one.

7. I put my dough in a 6-quart container with a lid and marked where the dough was. You want it to double in size. This will depend on the dough temp and the room temperature. It took mine 1 1/2 hours to double. 

8. The dough is ready to shape when you can push a floured finger deep into it and leave an indentation that doesn't spring back.

9. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and flatten gently with your hands to remove any large air bubbles. 

10. Shape the dough into loaves and place seam side down in a greased and floured loaf pan. I used a 9 inch pan.

11. Cover with a damp tea towel and let them rise for another hour.

12. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. The loaf should be golden brown and the bottom sound hollow if you table it.

13. Place on a wire rack to cool.

14. Enjoy! 

Homemade Bread!

Well on my journey to stop paying other people to make things that I can make myself (and yes I understand some people have extremely busy lives and can't) I have gone down the homemade bread road. For the last few months I've been experimenting with some recipes to see which one will fit our family. To say I have fallen in love is an understatement. This bread is moist and is still wonderful after 2 days, I don't know about any longer because it only made it that long because I specifically kept some to see. Although we have found that to make sandwiches that won't be eaten right away it doesn't seem to hold up.

I have to admit that I have been a mindless food purchaser and not really paid attention to labels and from time to time I would get a notion to but it was never a long lived thing, convenience seemed to win over. I recently took a look at the store bought bread we have used for years and saw all sorts of weird named ingredients. Now I know that they need it to preserve the bread so it has a shelf life but when you make fresh bread and see how long it lasts its a little scary how well these preservatives work! 

The trick for me is going to be timing and staying on top of the bread supply. Recently I haven't been too good at getting up early so bread for lunch has been a little late. I have horrible time management skills and really need to work on discipling myself and working to a schedule. Some recent changes around here will really go along way to helping me achieve this goal. I think a few more attempts and I will have my timing down perfect for the lunch time loaf of bread.

The original recipe this is adapted from is the Food Networks Alton Brown from Good Eats, Very Basic Bread Recipe. I love his show, well some of it, not the silly parts. I love the way he goes into the science behind cooking. It really is a science when you break it down. It also helps you to understand why you do the things you do at a specific stage in the cooking process. Anyhow I have changed the method Mr Brown used because it required some prepping the night before and I didn't feel the yeast was activating as much as I would have liked. So I got Julia Child's french bread recipe which is delicious. I took some of the method she used and applied it to Alton's recipe. Anyhow the results was amazing. The bread rose better and had a much better shape but still retained the taste.

My ingredients list is simple and this makes it cheaper than a store bought loaf. I love the fact that it is honey not sugar. Yeast needs sugar or honey to do it's thing but I much prefer the ability to use honey instead of sugar because its much less refined.

The shallow pan with hot water in it at the bottom of the oven will help to get a soft crust and keep the bread moist while it cooks. But I cannot impress on you the importance of being careful when you open the oven door, water and hot oven equals lots and lots of hot burning steam, I KNOW!!!!!! Facial like I've never experienced nor care to again!!!!

I've made the bread at night and it's been perfect for sandwiches the next day. Although it didn't seem to hold up for my husband when he made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the morning and went to eat it at lunchtime.

By the way this is delicious with the Home Made Butter from January. In fact makes a peasant food like bread and butter feel like a luxury! I'll not even mention how delicious the BLT sandwich is either!!!

So give it a go you never know you could get addicted like me!!!!

Home Made Bread

Ingredients:

1 lb/16 oz bread flour, plus extra for shaping

1 tsp instant rapid rise yeast

2 tsp honey

10 oz of lukewarm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 quart hot water

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, lukewarm water and honey. Let stand for five minutes.

2. Stir together flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer. 

3. Using the dough hook attachment, add the yeast mixture to the bowl.
4. Knead the mixture on low for 2 - 3 minutes until the mixture comes together.

5. Cover the dough in the bowl with a tea towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

6. After 20 minutes, knead the dough on medium speed for 5 - 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky but shouldn't be too sticky to handle.

7. Add half of the hot water to a shallow pan and place on the bottom rack of your oven. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON.

8. Place the dough in the mixer bowl in the oven on the rack directly above the hot water. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 2 hours.

9. Once the dough has risen turn it onto a counter top, lightly dust your hands with flour and press the dough out with your knuckles.

10. Grease the loaf pan with butter and sprinkle with flour.

11. Mold the dough into a shape about the size of the loaf pan and set it inside. Cover and allow to rest for about 30 minutes till 1 hour until it has risen.

12. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees F. Add more water to the shallow pan if it has evaporated. REMEMBER BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OPENING THE OVEN DOOR FROM THIS POINT ON - STEAM!!!!!

13. Place you bread in the oven and allow to cook for 35 - 40 minutes. Once the bread has reached an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. (If you are like me at least give it a few minutes so you don't burn yourself!).

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Home-made Tortillas

Ok so I'm going to add a new label and page to the blog Home Cooking Mama Pro. It's going to be for those recipes that just push you past the level of excellence. The recipes that, yes you could go to the store and buy pre-made but, you choose to make yourself.

Home made tortillas definitely qualify. On most shopping trips I have always just picked up a pack. Then one day I saw a recipe and thought why not give it a good. Trust me, I am adding a warning, it will be very difficult to enjoy a store bought tortilla after trying these!

Now the original recipe called for lard. Normally I am not afraid of things like butter and lard but I didn't have any and didn't know if the taste was something I would like. So I just added more shortening. If you are in the UK you can use Trex, Flora White or Cookeen. In the US I used Crisco. And of course you can just use lard.

They really don't take long to make and keep well for a few days in the fridge or can be frozen for a month, but defrost completely before eating. I've made them with fajitas recently and they are simply delicious and make the tortillas taste even better.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups (12 1/2 ozs) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

5 Tablespoons (2 1/2 ozs) vegetable shortening or substitute equal parts shortening and lard

3/4 cup very warm water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. 

2. Add the shortening (and/or lard) and rub into the flour mixture until well incorporated.

3. Gradually mix in the water until dough comes together. It should be a medium-stiff consistency, not as soft as a bread dough but not firm either. Add addition water if needed a Tablespoon at a time.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
5. Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Set the balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

6. Flatten the ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and backward across it once. Rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rolling and turning until you reach the desired circle size. Roll all of them before going to the next step.

7. Heat an ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium to medium high heat.

8. Lay the tortilla on the hot skillet, there may be a little sizzle noise and you see bubbling across the surface.

9. After 45 seconds or so, when there are light brown marks on the bottom, flip it over and cook for another 30 - 45 seconds until the other side is slightly browned. Be careful not to leave it too long or it will become crispy.

10. Remove from the skillet and place on a dry cloth. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and stack them one on top of the other on the cloth. 

Happy Home Cooking Pro style!!!