White Bread

I think this came from a post on the Dull Men’s Club page on Facebook, but I neglected to note the author’s name. I am very sorry for that, but wanted to keep the recipe where I could find it. I thank the now-anonymous author/baker for these careful directions. 

I am surprised to see that the recipes yields four loaves, given it only contains 5 or so cups of flour. We'll see. 

1&1/2 tsp active dry yeast 

1 Tbsp sugar 

1 cup warm water 

Combine in a small bowl and set aside to proof. If it doesn't bubble after 15 minutes, your yeast is dead. Buy new yeast and try again. 

1/4 cup oil 

1/4 cup honey 

3 eggs 

4 cups bread flour (plus a little extra for kneading) 

1&1/2 tsp salt 

In a medium size bowl, combine eggs, oil, and honey. Beat with a whisk until smooth. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add your proofed yeast mixture to your egg mixture. Then pour all of that into the center of the flour. Mix until all the flour is incorporated and you have a dough. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If you don't know how to knead dough, it's really very simple. Fold it in half, then press it down with your palm. Then do it again. And again. For 10 minutes. Do not rush this step. You will feel the texture of the dough changing as the gluten develops. Add more flour to your work surface as needed because the dough absorbs it. Remember, 10 whole minutes! 

After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a clean bowl, lightly greased with oil. Brush a little more oil on top of the dough. Cover the bowl with a layer of plastic and then a heavy towel. Leave in a warm spot in your kitchen for 1 hour. I like to turn the oven on very low and let the dough rise on the stovetop.

After 1 hour, the dough should have doubled in size, and when you poke it, the indent stays and doesn't spring back. Divide dough evenly into 4 portions and grease 4 loaf pans. If you don't have loaf pans, you can use a large sheet pan covered with parchment paper. You just won't get as consistent a shape. The braiding step is really optional, but if you want to and you don't know how to braid bread, I suggest you go look up some instructional videos on YouTube. It's easier to learn by watching someone do it. Otherwise, just put each piece of dough in a loaf pan. 

Cover and rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. If you want to brush the loaves with an egg wash and add some toppings, do so. If you didn't braid, you'll need to make a slash in the top of each loaf to ensure the inside cooks evenly. Braided loaves don't need this. 

Bake 35 minutes. Depending on the size of your oven, you may need to do it in batches. Do not crowd the oven to save time. I have learned from bitter experience that the bread will burn if you do this. You want at least an inch of space between each pan so they get even heat distribution. 

When the loaves are done, remove them from the pans and leave them on a cooling rack or upside down on a towel. Once they're completely cooled, they can be frozen in Ziploc bags or enjoyed immediately.

Betty Crocker's Classic White Bread

This is the best white bread I've ever made. The ingredients are like those in every other bread recipe, but this particular combination results in a perfect fragrant, moist loaf. I borrowed the details from this web page. 

If you've ever read any of Philip R. Craig's Martha's Vineyard Mysteries, you will remember that this bread recipe is mentioned in almost every single book. Craig's hero, J.W. Jackson, makes his white bread in batches of four loaves. To do the same, just double this recipe. 

This same recipe also appears in Craig's cookbook, Delish, which I couldn't resist buying after reading the Vineyard series and wondering about the delicious-sounding meals that J.W. cooks for his family. The book also contains some great ways to prepare fish.

Ingredients

6 to 7 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 cups very warm water (120° to 130°F)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, if desired

Directions

• In large bowl, stir 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast until well mixed. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease bottoms and sides of two 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray.
• Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into 18x9-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
• Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°F.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.

Note: I've found that if I wait until the following morning after baking, cooling, and storing the loaves in plastic bags I can easily slice them up for freezing. 

Dutch Oven Bread

I got a gift certificate for Christmas and used it to get a beautiful 5 quart cast iron Dutch oven with lid. The first thing I wanted to make was some artisan bread. 

The bread is mixed up in the afternoon and baked the following morning. I only had to work on it for a very few minutes; the rest of the time it was doing a long, slow rise of 12 to 18 hours. 

I was surprised that it only took 1/2 teaspoon of yeast and was tempted to throw in some more until I read more--the long rising time gives the yeast time to ferment and gives the bread a better flavor. 

And the flavor is absolutely delicious. The crust is just like the Italian bread we used to buy in Connecticut. I hope you'll try it--it takes just four ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, and water) and a few minutes of your time. 

6 cups flour

1/2 tsp. dry yeast

2 - 1/2 tsp. salt

2 - 2/3 cups cool water

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then add the water and mix well to make a rather sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter top for 12 to 18 hours. 

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Turn and fold it over a couple of times, then tuck the corners of the dough underneath to form a rough ball. 

Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a large clean dish towel and dust the paper with flour. Place the ball of dough on the paper, seam side down. Dust with more flour and pull the parchment corners up over the dough, then wrap the towel over. Let rise for two hours until doubled. 

After about 1 - 1/2 hours preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place a heavy Dutch oven covered pot in the oven while it preheats. When the dough is risen, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and remove the cover. Remove the coverings from the dough, slide your hand carefully under the dough ball and flip it over into the hot pot, seam side up. Shake the pan a bit to sort things out. Don't worry about the appearance at this point. 

Put the cover on the pot and put the pot into the hot oven and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 10 to 15 more minutes to brown the crust. Take pot out of the oven and remove the bread and let it cool on a wire rack. Best eaten in the first two days. 

I first saw this recipe on Frugal Living NW. Now that groceries are getting more expensive by the minute, I will be checking there more often for money-saving ideas. 

Elva's Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbl. butter
1 tsp. salt

1 pkg. dry yeast (1 tbl.)
1/2 cup lukewarm water

1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup cut-up raisins
1/2 cup currants

Lemon filling prepared from pie filling mix, cooled. You'll need about 2 cups, which is what one box makes.

Directions:
Add the sugar, butter, and salt to the milk, stir and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast that has been dissolved in the water, stir well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Knead 5 minutes. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Pinch off small balls, about half the size you want the buns to be. Slit tops with the sign of the cross. Let rise until light on a greased cookie sheet.

Brush tops with beaten egg yolk mixed with a bit of water. With two teaspoons, pull top of each bun apart and add a heaping tsp. of lemon filling. Bake in a preheated 350 F. oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

When cool, spoon a cross of white icing on each bun. (Icing: powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla).

Orange Yeast Bread

What we see while drinking our morning coffee

Well, it took more than a few moments to change kitchens during our recent move from New Mexico's High Plains to its spectacular city in the Chihuahuan Desert, Las Cruces. However, the kitchen is finally unpacked, and every once in a while we are able to tear ourselves away from the magificent views we see out of every window to do a little cooking.

This recipe has been under development for a while and I think that it is ready to share with you. It makes a deliciously fragrant toast to have with your morning coffee.

1 heaping tbl. yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water, to which you have added a tiny pinch of sugar

1 whole orange (seeds removed), ground up, juice, rind and all

1 cup warm water (may be part additional orange juice)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom, optional

6 to 8 cups of flour, or however much it takes to make a nice bread dough

I do the whole process using the Kitchenaid mixer, grinding up the orange first, then mixing the cup of warm water, the yeast mixture, the orange, sugar, salt, oil, eggs, and optional cardamom together and beating well.

Add 3 cups of flour and beat at medium speed for several minutes. Change to the dough hook and add flour, a cup at a time, until you have a nice dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing it for a few minutes to get it really well kneaded.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand until no longer sticky. Let rise, covered, in a greased bowl in a warm place until the dough is doubled. Until we get a better heater installed in this little adobe house, we've been setting the bowl of dough on the raised hearth of the kiva fireplace, which keeps it nice and warm.

Bread dough rising in front of the kiva fireplace

Turn out dough onto a floured surface again, punch down, knead a few times, and divide into thirds. Shape each third into a loaf, put each into a greased bread pan, cover, and let rise again until almost doubled.

Bake at 375〫for 45 minutes. Cool on racks, slice, and freeze (if you wish). Delicious as toast, or in sandwiches. We would have loved it with sliced turkey and leftover cranberry sauce. Well, that was the plan, anyway, but the Thanksgiving leftovers got eaten up too soon!

Panettone

Special Italian dessert bread for holidays. This version comes from Auntie Bucksnort.

3 tbl. yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup warm water

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup soft butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. lemon peel

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

1/3 cup candied citron

1/2 cup raisins (mix dark and light if you wish)

2 tbl. melted butter to brush on crust

Soften yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with a little sugar. Mix the remaining ingredients (except for 2 tbl. butter), adding more flour as necessary to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth, let rise in a greased bowl until doubled.

Form into a round loaf and let rise on a greased cookie sheet until doubled. Bake at 400〫for 10 minutes, then brush with melted butter. Continue baking at 350〫for 30 to 40 minutes until done.

Cool on rack.

All-Bran Yeast Bread or Rolls

From Maine's Jubilee Cookbook, published in 1969.

1 tbl. dry yeast

2 cups lukewarm water

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1/2 cup All-Bran cereal

1/4 cup melted shortening

1 tsp. salt

6 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add molasses, beaten egg, and All-Bran. Mix well.

Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Turn out onto floured board, knead well.

Let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise a second time until doubled.

Form into loaves or rolls, let rise a 3rd time until double.

Bake in 350° oven for 35 minutes for loaves; or 400° for 25 minutes for rolls. Test for doneness.

Oatmeal Rolls

I love making rolls. They are easy to freeze for the two of us; we just take out what we need and warm them in the microwave. When I found this recipe in my old Blue Ribbon Recipe cookbook I knew I had to add it to my collection of favorites.

2 - 1/4 cups scalded milk

2 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed well

1 tbl. salt

2 tbl. soft shortening

1 pkg. dry yeast (1 tbl)

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg, beaten

4 - 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Pour milk over oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and shortening in a large bowl. Pour the yeast into the warm water. When the milk mixture is lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast and the beaten egg. Mix in flour.

Turn out onto lightly floured board, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth.

Place in a well-greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double. Punch down, shape into rolls. Place in well-greased muffin tins or on a cookie sheet, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400° for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Shredded Wheat Yeast Bread

This is a nice brown bread which is particularly good when toasted for breakfast. This recipe comes from Cooks.com.

2 - 3/4 cups boiling water

3 shredded wheat biscuits

1/2 cup molasses (may substitute honey or maple syrup)

2 tablespoons shortening

1 rounded teaspoon salt

1 tbl. dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

8 cups flour

Pour boiling water over the shredded wheat biscuits; add molasses, shortening, salt, and dissolved yeast. Beat well. Then sift and add 8 cups flour. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook use it, but be sure you only add flour a cup at a time. Dough will be sticky.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly. Let rise until doubled.

Place in 2 large or 3 medium well-greased bread pans. Let dough rise until double again.

Bake in 375 degree oven, 35-45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom.

Orange Cottage Bread

This recipe comes from The Harlow's Bread & Cracker Cookbook. The book is out of print now but, thanks to the Internet, you can still find a copy. Do so, you won't be disappointed. The author, Joan Harlow, had a wonderful little bakery in Epping, New Hampshire that our family loved to visit. It was a small red-orange painted cape and looked like a little storybook cottage, with its flower beds and bow windows.

4 cups lukewarm water

1 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbl. salt

1 tbl. fennel seed (put in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin to release the flavor)

1 orange, chopped up (include juice and grated rind)

2 tbl. dry yeast

10-12 cups bread flour

whole-egg wash

Put all the ingredients except the flour and the yeast in a large mixing bowl and combine them. Add the proofed yeast, then work in the flour a little at a time until no longer sticky.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead a bit. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. Punch down and shape into 3 loaves. Put each loaf into a greased bread pan, brushing tops with whole-egg wash. Cover and let rise until almost doubled.

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until done. Cool on rack.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Although Ben has requested this recipe, I can't ever remember making it. I do recall that we used to buy fresh loaves from some past grocery store (which I also can't remember). I got this version from Cooks.com. This bread makes a wonderful breakfast toast.

2 - 1/2 lb. flour
2 c. sugar
1 - 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. butter, softened
5 large eggs
2 cups lukewarm milk
2 tbl. dry yeast

Beat eggs to lemon color. Add sugar, melted butter and yeast. Mix and add flour alternating with milk. When dough is stiff, knead until it has a satiny sheen. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Knead again, let rise again, place in loaf pan (round is okay too). Do not let dough get chilled. Let rise again and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Panda Bread

I really just had to post this. Thanks to Marsha for the link to Perfect Pandas. Words fail me, so I posted pictures. I did my best to provide converted measurements, though hopefully I didn't complicate an already-complicated recipe into an impossible one! Good luck!

--230 grams All-Purpose Flour (Approximately 1 and 1/2 cups)
--70 grams Cake Flour (Approximately 1/2 cup)
--30 grams Sugar (Approximately 2 tablespoons)
--Milk + 1 Egg Yolk= 210 grams (Approximately 3/4 cup milk plus 1 egg yolk)
--4.5 grams Salt (Approximately 3/4 teaspoon)
--18 grams Unsalted Butter (Approximately 1 tablespoon)
--4 grams Yeast (Approximately 2/3 teaspoon)
--8 grams Green Tea Powder dissolved in 10 grams Boiling Hot Water (Let's say 1 teaspoon powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon water)
--8 grams Cocoa Powder dissolved in 8 grams Boiling Hot Water (Let's say 1 teaspoon powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon water)

Beat the egg yolk lightly with milk and send it to the microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds (Heat to 38 Degrees Celsius). Put all ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle. Let it knead for 20 minutes. Stop the cycle and restart the dough cycle and let it knead for another 15 minutes. Divide dough (about 560g) into 3 parts: 75g for the chocolate, 210g plain and the rest of the dough which is less than 280g for the green tea (1/2 will be "green tea dough", 3/8 will be "plain dough", and 1/8 will be "Chocolate dough". Add dissolved cocoa powder to the "chocolate dough" and knead till the colour is even. Add dissolved green tea to the "green tea dough" and knead till colour is even. Let dough balls rise for 30–40 minutes. Punch air out of and let rise for another 20–30 minutes. Use about half of the plain dough (90 grams) for the face and 1/3 of the chocolate dough for each eye (27 grams each).

Fill the space between the eyes with 1/3 of the remaining plain dough (30 grams).

Roll remaining plain dough over the patterned dough.

Divide the remaining chocolate dough into 2 pieces for the ears (17.5 grams each).

Use 1/4 of the green tea dough for the space between the ears (70 grams).

Wrap the rest of the green tea dough all around the patterned dough.

Place dough into a well-greased loaf pan and let rise for another 50–60 minutes. Bake at at about 375-400 Degrees Fahrenheit for 25–30 minutes (185-200 Degrees Celsius).

Seriously...good luck with this recipe. Here is the original if it helps.

Sopaipillas

When we first traveled to New Mexico, we were served these fluffy fried breads in restaurants all over the state. However, in the south, they were served as dessert with honey on the side, separate from the meal. In the north, they were a part of the meal and we were instructed to eat them with honey whenever our mouths got too hot from the chile we were eating.

This recipe uses yeast, and comes from VivaNewMexico.com. You can find a version that uses baking powder on the same web page.

Sopaipillas De Levadura (Yeast Puffed Bread)

Yield: 4 dozen medium sopaipillas

Total Frying Time: 15-20 minutes

Temperature: Medium-High

Freeze Well

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

(105°-115°F)

1 1/4 cups scalded milk, cooled

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbl. sugar

1 tbl. shortening

Additional shortening for frying

1. Dissolve yeast in water and add to milk.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and cut in shortening.

3. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add liquid to dry ingredients and work into a dough.

4. Knead dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth; cover, and set aside.

5. Heat 2 inches of shortening in a heavy pan at medium-high heat.

6. Roll dough to a 1/8 ingh thickness on a lightly floured board. Cut dough into 4-inch squares and fry until golden on both sides, turning once. (If the shortening is sufficiently hot, the sopaipillas will puff and become hollow shortly after being placed in the shortening).

7. Drain sopaipillas on absorbent towels.

Serve with honey, either with the meal or after.

You can also dust these with sugar and cinnamon for dessert.

Focaccia

I first saw this made on one of Jeff Smith's Frugal Gourmet TV shows. I later bought his book, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines so I could have my own copy of this recipe and all the others he was demonstrating in this series.

Note: Since I put this recipe on the blog, it's become our favorite bread. We just cut it up and freeze it and warm up a square at a time.

Makes 2 loaves

• 2 cups tepid water (90 degrees)
• 2 packages dry yeast (2 tbl.)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 1/2 cups wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Toppings

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• garlic, to taste
• rosemary, to taste
• kosher salt, to taste

In a large bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar. Stir in the oils and 1 tsp. of salt. Add 2 - 3/4 cup of flour, mixing well until spongy. Add enough remaining flour to make stiff dough.

Turn onto floured surface and knead until elastic. Cover with bowl and let rise til doubled.

Divide dough in half, spread on greased cookie sheets using your fingers.

Mix crushed garlic with olive oil; brush over bread. Sprinkle w/ dried or fresh rosemary and kosher salt. Cover and let rise.

Bake at 375 for 1/2 hour. Cut into squares and serve.

NOTE: You can also slice squares in half horizontally for sandwiches.

Whole Wheat Bread

1 tbl. dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil

3 cups stirred whole wheat flour

5 cups sifted all purpose white flour

Soften yeast in warm water. Combine hot water, sugar, salt, and oil; cool to lukewarm. 

Stir in whole wheat flour, one cup of the white flour, and the yeast mixture; beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead well. 

Shape dough into a ball, place in lightly greased bowl, cover, let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Shape into 2 loaves, place in greased loaf pans, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/4 hours). 

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 20 minutes if the top is getting too brown. 

Auntie's Old World Rye Bread

1 tbl. dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup molasses

1 tbl. salt

1 tbl. olive oil

2 cups rye flour 

1/4 cup cocoa

3-4 cups of unbleached wheat flour, or amount needed

Caraway seeds (optional) or grated orange rind (optional)

Dissolve yeast in the half cup of warm water. 

Mix water, molasses, salt, and olive oil. Stir. Add rye flour, cocoa, and yeast mixture. Stir. Add caraway seeds or orange rind, then add wheat flour until you have a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on floured board until smooth. Place in a greased bowl to rise. 

When risen to double, turn out on floured board, knead, shape into two loaves. Let rise in greased loaf pans until double. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until done. 

Christmas Wreath Bread

1 pkg. yeast
¼ cup warm water
2 ½ cups warm milk
¾ cup butter
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp. cardamom
7 cups flour

Mix as for bread, knead until smooth. Let rise on board for 1 ½ hours.

Divide dough in half; cut each half into three pieces. Roll the pieces into long "snakes" and braid three of them together. Braid the second loaf. Form each braid into a circle, pinch ends together firmly, let rise 40 minutes. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Pour glaze* over warm bread. Decorate with halved maraschino cherries (holly berries), artificial holly leaves, and a large ribbon bow.

*Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
1 tsp. lemon extract

Sword and Anchor Bread

From my Dad's cousin, Buddy

2 cups of boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
2 tbl. butter or margarine
½ cup molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 tbl. dry yeast
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ cup warm water
3 cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup wheat germ (optional)
2 – 3 cups of white flour

Pour boiling water over oats, add butter, stir and let stand until cool. Add molasses and salt.

Dissolve yeast and ginger in the ½ cup of warm water, let stand 10 minutes, add to oatmeal mixture, mix well. Add wheat flour and wheat germ, beating well after each addition.

Add just enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead, let rise until doubled, form into 2 loaves, let rise in greased pans. Bake at 350º for 50-60 minutes.

Sesame Breads (Khoobz sumsum)

From Tunisia via Peace Corps kids

3-1/2 to 4 cups of unsifted flour (measured out into a small bowl)
2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast
1-1/4 cups very warm tap water (120 – 130 degrees)
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tbl. cold water
8 tsp. sesame seeds

In a large bowl thoroughly mix one cup of flour, the salt and the dry yeast. Gradually add tap water to dry ingredients and beat two minutes at the medium speed of the electric mixer, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add ¾ cup flour, beat at high speed for two more minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. On a lightly floured board, roll each piece into a five-inch circle. Cover the circles with a towel and let them rest on the board for 45 minutes.

Place the circles, bottom side up, on greased baking sheets. Blend the egg white and cold water and brush this mixture on the tope of each circle. Sprinkle each with a teaspoonful of sesame seeds.

Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, or until browned. (I start checking them nervously after about 7 minutes—that’s a very hot oven!). Cool on wire racks.

Serve with Falafel and Raita (yogurt mixed with cucumber and mint).

Poppy Seed Egg Twist Bread

2 tbl. dry yeast 

½ cup warm water (110-115 degrees) 

¼ cup sugar 

1 ½ cups scalded milk 

¼ cup (1/2 stick) soft butter or margarine 

3 tsp. salt 

3 large eggs 

7 ¼ to 7 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour 

 

1 large egg, beaten 

2 tbl. cold water 

1/3 to ½ cup poppy seeds 

 Soften yeast in warm water with sugar. Stir butter and salt into hot milk and let cool to lukewarm. Mix yeast mixture, milk mixture, the 3 eggs and 3 ½ cups of the flour to make a batter, beat until smooth. Add the remaining flour a bit at a time until the dough feels right. 

Knead on floured board about five minutes. Place in greased bowl, let rise, punch down, let rise again. 

Turn out onto floured board. Divide into two parts, divide each part into three and roll out long “snakes.” Braid the three long pieces together, repeat for the other loaf. 

Let rise on greased cookie sheets. When doubled, brush with the egg and water mixed together, then sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until well browned. Cool on wire racks.