Mom's best yeast bread

I love to bake bread for my family. It is a spiritual, as well as a nutritional and physical exercise that every woman should enjoy on a regular basis. I chose a gender purposefully, for I find something inherently female about the entire process. Women have traditionally made the bread that nourishes families in every culture since time began.

From the elaborate stollen of the Germanic peoples in Northern Europe to the sourdough pan breads made by women who traveled with their men to the California gold fields, bread is as much a part of our heritage as the air we breathe.

Especially in the case of that sourdough, the very air we breathe determines the character of each loaf, giving it flavors peculiar to the geographical region where it is made.

I have grown many a sourdough starter from starts sent to me from all over the world. Within a few months, they are all Kentucky starters as the yeast strains from afar mingle with the wild yeasts from the atmosphere around my home, and eventually become much like any other sourdough starter in this area.

Since the character of sourdough bread is so dependent on where you happen to be, I think simple yeast bread is a better beginning loaf for the new baker, and it is also a reliable friend for experienced bakers.

All you need to create a perfect loaf is an understanding of the process, fresh ingredients, and a little time and patience. I learned to bake "Mom 's Best Yeast Bread," the attached recipe, from my mother, and have always had good luck with it. It makes quite a lot - four loaves or 40 dinner rolls - but it also keeps pretty well and will last a family of four a week if doled out judiciously. And it 'sa great recipe for explaining all the important parts of making bread.

Let me elaborate a bit about the ingredients. The recipe calls for bread flour, and with good reason. Bread flour has more gluten than all-purpose flour and gluten gives the dough its elasticity, or its ability to contain the bubbles of carbon dioxide that the yeast gives off. You make those bubbles smaller and smaller as you knead the bread. A high-gluten flour is able to stretch and stretch again to contain smaller and smaller bubbles, giving you a consistent crumb throughout the loaf.

You will also notice that the recipe calls for sugar. Do not skip the sugar. Yeast, the organism, has a real sweet tooth and, while there are metabolic sugars within the flour, the yeast has to work harder to get at them. Adding some sugar to the dough will help the yeast spring into action for you.

This recipe uses two packets of active dry yeast, available in sets of three at the supermarket. You can also purchase active dry yeast in little jars. This is only a good idea if you intend to bake a lot of bread in the next several months. I buy it by the jar, and because I don 't bake as often as I used to, I keep my jar of yeast in the freezer.

Bring it to room temperature before you start to work with it for more consistent quality. If the recipe calls for packets, you can still measure out the right amount from your jar - a packet contains about 2.5 teaspoons of active dry yeast.

You will notice that many recipes suggest you proof the yeast, and I think that is a great idea. To do so, add some lukewarm water to a bowl and the required amount of yeast over the surface of the water. About one quarter to one half cup of water is plenty. (Be sure to subtract the amount of water you use to proof the yeast from the total amount of liquid asked for in the recipe. Otherwise, you 'll end up with soupy dough because there was too much liquid.)

Now, stir the yeast into the water and let it sit on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes. When the surface starts to swell and bubbles are clearly forming, you will know the yeast is working fine. If it is just sitting there doing nothing at all, dump it out and get some fresh yeast before proceeding.

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of salt. Again, this is an ingredient that shouldn 't be skipped. While the sugar inspires the yeast to rise with great gusto for you, the salt puts the brakes on the yeast so it doesn 't overdo things.

This recipe calls for lukewarm milk. Be aware that lukewarm is about 125 ° F (50 ° C). If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is too cold, the yeast will get off to a sluggish start. Test a drop or two on your wrist, and you won 't have to measure.

This recipe calls for an egg, which gives bread a hearty flavor and a richer color that I really like. Not all bread recipes require an egg. One other thing you need to remember is that quantities in bread making are never set in stone. The way your dough behaves depends on the weather and the humidity. So, if you don 't use 10 whole cups of flour, that ' s okay. If you feel as if you have to use more than 10 cups, that 's okay, too.

Also, while you can use vegetable shortening or unsalted butter to butter your loaf pan, please serve genuine unsalted butter with the fresh bread. I usually set a stick on the counter to soften sometime during the bread-making process, so it is soft and easy-to-spread when the bread comes out of the oven. Now, let 's bake some bread!

Combine the yeast with 1/2 cup of the milk or water and allow the mixture to rest on the counter until bubbly. In the large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, combine three cups of the bread flour with the sugar and the salt.

Combine the yeast mixture and the milk and add to the flour mixture gradually, beating at medium speed. Scrape the bowl often. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg and 2 cups additional flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat in another 2-3 cups of flour, enough to make a stiff dough. When mixer begins to labor, turn the dough out on a floured work surface.

Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes, adding only enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should take on a smooth and satiny texture when it has been kneaded long enough.

Shape the dough into a ball and put it in a large buttered bowl. Turn the dough over to coat evenly with the butter and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm area, free of drafts, and allow it to rise for about 1-1 / 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in bulk. Punch down.

Butter four 8-1 / 2"x 4-1 / 2" x 2-1 / 2" loaf pans. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, cut into 4 equal pieces and allow dough to rest for five minutes. To shape, roll each piece of dough out into a rectangle as wide as the pan is long. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion and gently stretch dough down over ends.

(Since you are making four loaves, why not make one cinnamon. When the dough is laid out in the rectangle, sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and then roll it up. This is a nice loaf for toast all week long.) Place in pans, seam side down, being sure loaf touches both ends of the pan for stability in rising.

Cover with a clean and dry dish towel and allow to stand in a warm area, free of drafts, for 1 hour, or until the dough has just risen over the edge of the pans. Uncover the pans and place in the oven. Set oven temperature to 400єF (205 ° C). Bake for about 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when thunked on the bottom and sides. Remove the loaves from the pan and allow them to cool on wire racks if you prefer a crisp crust, or loosely wrap in dishtowel to cool if you prefer a softer crust. If serving hot, allow the loaves to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Now, there are a couple of spots in the instructions where inexperienced bread bakers tend to either balk or shortchange themselves. Here are some helpful tips:

Kneading time

The first is in the kneading time. I know that a timed 8 to 10 minutes interval seems interminable, but it won 't if you consider kneading as an exercise and a meditation opportunity.

My favorite way to knead bread is to set the floured breadboard on the kitchen floor, and hold it in place with my knees. I place a knee on each of the front corners of the board. This enables me to put the whole force of my body behind the heels of my hands as I come down into the dough forcibly. Then, I sit back on my heels, turn the bread a quarter turn, fold it over and come down with both hands again. Repeat this motion, rhythmically for the eight to ten minutes.

You will find it almost fun to do this to a favorite, and long, rock song, operatic aria, Gospel hymn, rap number or other piece of music. Twice through Jimmy Buffett 's "Margaritaville" comes out a little over ten minutes, and is one of my favorites. I start it up on the CD player, hit repeat and knead away until it is over.

Let your mind wander around as you work- let thoughts come into your mind and drift out again- don 't try to hold any of them, unless there are things that really annoy you, and you want to work through the anger they inspire . The IRS, people who wander all over the road in their cars as they chat on their cell phones, any of a dozen or so elected officials, or an ex-spouse are great grist for this particular mill. Work that anger out, and then fall into the meditative mode of not clinging to any particular thought, but letting them come and go as you knead and knead.

Just allow yourself to fall into the rhythm. Don 't worry about goofing things up. The main problem we can identify about kneading bread dough is that the bread has failed because it wasn 't kneaded long enough. When it has been kneaded long enough, the dough takes on a smooth and satiny texture, and a nice resiliency. You will more or less know when you get the dough to this proper point. As you work, the dough will become familiar and your body and mind will tune into its subtle changes.

The thunk

The last common question we get that I will try to explain here is the "thunk." When you test to see if the bread is done, tap the top with your fingers. It should make a sound like, well, like "thunk." If that sounds good, gently turn the bread out on the counter and tap the sides and bottom. A "thunk" means it is done- a "thud" means put it back in for a while.

And, that is pretty much how it goes. There really is no mystery, and if you read these descriptions and instructions carefully, your bread should come out great. If it doesn 't, you can cut all the loaves up and have lots of wonderful croutons!

Even the most misshapen loaf of homemade yeast bread sends a heavenly fragrance through your home as it bakes. It draws the family to it like a magnet as it cools on the counter. The satisfaction with a finished product is enormous, but that isn 't the true purpose of bread baking.

The process, the mixing and kneading and waiting for the rise - this is what makes bread baking special. Just be open to it: this is a timeless activity, and a rich one. Throughout the ages, women have kneaded dough to make bread rise into a healthful meal for their families. You are indulging in the very nurturing rhythms of life when you create and bake a loaf of bread for the people you love.