Easy French Bread

Makes 2 delicious loaves!

Easy French Bread



2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 C. warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. soft shortening or oil (I prefer oil)
4 C. flour


1.  In a stand mixer, pour in yeast, water, sugar, salt and oil.  Mix.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

2.  Add flour and mix for 10 minutes.

3.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Shape into 2 balls.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

4.  Roll each ball into a 9"x12" rectangle.  Then roll up firmly along long side, like for a jelly roll.  Pinch ends to seal.

5.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Score top diagonally 5 or 6 times with a serrated knife (about half inch deep gashes).  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.  Turn oven on about half way through rising time.

6.  Bake at 400º for about 30 minutes, until bread is deeply golden.  Brush with melted butter while warm.

Enjoy!

45-Minute Rolls

Note:  I always double this recipe!  :)

1 C. plus 2 Tbsp. warm water
2 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 C. sugar
1/3 C. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 3/4 C. flour

1.  Heat oven to 400º.
2.  In a mixing bowl, combine water, yeast, sugar and oil.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
3.  Using your dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour.  Knead until well mixed and dough is soft and smooth -- 5-10 minutes.
4.  Form dough into 12 or 16 balls (depending on size you desire) and place in greased pans (12 balls in 9x13 pan, extras in smaller pan/pie dish).  Allow to rest 10 minutes.
5.  Bake for about 14 minutes on the second highest rack.  Watch for a nice golden color.

Serve hot!

Banana Nut Bread

October 26, 2010

I've made this recipe many times and my family loves it!









Banana Nut Bread

1/2 c. Shortening
1 1/2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 well-beaten eggs
2 c. Flour (I often use all whole wheat or mix with unbleached)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
4 Tbsp. Milk (add 1-2 Tbsp. more if using all whole wheat flour)
1 c. Banana pulp
1 c. Nuts (omit, if desired)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until creamy. Add flour with baking soda and salt. Mix, then add milk and banana pulp. Mix, then add nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes if using 1 large loaf pan, or for 45-50 minutes if using 2 small loaf pans.

Speedy Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe makes 4 loaves. Bosch mixers can handle this amount, most other kitchen mixers require a half-recipe.

Ingredients:
4 C. Very warm Water
3 Tbsp. Yeast
3/4 C. Oil
3/4 C. Honey
1 Tbsp. Blackstrap Molasses (optional)
9 1/2 C. 100% Whole Wheat Flour (I prefer Krogers brand)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Salt

1. Preheat oven to 100 degrees F. If your oven doesn't go that low, set it to the lowest temperature. When your dough is done mixing, turn off the oven and let it cool down a bit while you shape and place the dough into the pans. You'll be letting your dough rise in the oven, so you do not want to have it hotter than 110 degrees.  If it cools down too much, turn on the oven light for some extra warmth.
Update: I have better results when I turn off the oven half way through the 10 minute mixing period. My oven takes a while to cool down, so I might even crack the oven door to let heat out since my lowest setting is 170.

2. Put the water and yeast into your mixer. Briefly pulse to mix. Then add oil and honey. Pulse.
Update: After adding in oil & honey, let the yeast mixture sit for 5 minutes. The yeast will activate and get frothy.
 Add whole wheat flour. Turn to low speed for 1-2 minutes, then add salt (and molasses, if desired).
Update: Start with 8 cups of flour then add in salt and molasses. Mix for a minute and determine how sticky the dough is. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Most likely you'll end up at 9 1/2 cups but the brand of flour, humidity and temperature in your kitchen can impact the dough.

3. Continue to knead the dough on low speed for 10 minutes. Prepare your 4 large loaf pans by greasing them with butter.

4. Remove dough from mixer and place on lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 equal balls, shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans.

5. Place loaf pans into the oven (temperature around 100 degrees) and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door! Leave the pans in the oven.

6. Turn on the oven to 325 degrees and set the timer for 30 minutes (my oven needs exactly 34 minutes). A good way to know that the bread is ready is by the wonderful aroma, a dark golden color, and when the internal temperature is above 185 degrees. Continue baking until the bread reaches this temperature, otherwise the center will be mushy.

7. Remove loaves from pans right away and place on cooling racks (or else they will get soggy). Once the bread has cooled, store them in plastic produce bags. Loaves that won't be used right away store best in the freezer.

Enjoy!