Jan. 24: I’ve been having fun spending time in the kitchen this week. I love to cook or bake, but normally, I just have no time for it! So this week, I’ve had fun doing all sorts of things that require one to be able to check in on the kitchen over the course of the day.
I’m on my third loaf of bread for the week, I made yogurt, and yesterday I made a lemon-strawberry pie in honor of national pie day.
I imagine that once “little sister” comes I won’t be cooking quite as much, but right now it sure is fun.
The bread I’ve been working on this week is just a white sandwich loaf. I hope to move on to French and whole-wheat and sour dough and rolls once I get the sandwich loaf down pat. For those who are interested, here’s the recipe that I’ve been working with. The loaf I made yesterday was wonderful. Reminded me of Mom’s bread:
From James Beard:
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups 110-115 degree water (I found that I’m having much more success when I measure the water temperature instead of guessing!)
1 heaping teaspoon salt
around 4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
Warm the bowl you’ll use for rising by filling it with hot water. In my house, I don’t have a good, warm place for the dough to rise, so I’ve also been turning the oven on warm for about two minutes, then opening the door a crack while the dough is mixed.
Combine all the ingredients in Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook and mix for about five minutes. I start by adding about 3 1/2 cups of flour and add more until I get the consistency I’m looking for. It shouldn’t be sticking to the sides too much and should form a nice smooth, elastic ball.
Oil the bowl, put your ball of dough in, and turn it around several times so the surface is slightly oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, cover with a towel, and put in a warm, draft-free place (in my case, the oven) to rise. Andrew likes to blow it a kiss at this point and to tell it to have a good nap.
I a couple or a few hours later, the dough should be doubled in size. Punch it down, give it a couple kneads, re-form it into a ball, and let it re-rise for another couple hours, until doubled in bulk. James Beard says that this second rising makes the dough finer in texture and better in flavor.
After the second rising, punch the dough down, and take it out of the bowl. Lightly flour the counter, and shape the dough into a square about 1 inch thick. Cover with a towel, and let it rest for five minutes. Meanwhile grease your bread pan well with butter. Fold the dough into thirds, and fold and pinch the seam together. Fold the ends and roll and pinch them in as well so you end up with a well-shaped loaf. Pop this in to the bread pan, seam-side down. Press down so the loaf fits well.
Cover the loaf with plastic wrap, put in a warm place to rise – for me it’s been around an hour and a half. When the bread has risen just over the edge of the pan, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the bread for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes. You can turn out the bread and knock on the bottom to see if it’s done. It should have a hollow sound. Cool the bread on a wire rack and devour with butter and honey or jam.