It's that time of year again! Time to bake everything. The temperatures are finally cooling down so I can justify kicking the oven on all day. My personal favorite? Bread. Take a basic recipe and jazz it up. You can go so many different ways with this one.
1 packet of instant yeast.
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk (warmed)
Tablespoon of butter
Tablespoon of sugar
Flour (roughly 4 cups +)
If you have a bread machine, good for you, toss it all in the machine and let her go. (I have no idea how these work, so use your best personal judgement) For anyone else, this is super easy so don't worry too much. Mix your yeast and sugar in a bowl with the warmed water and milk. Let that sit until it gets a bit foamy. The add in your butter. I normally add in my flour 1/2 cup at a time (this is why it is such a rough number!). Mix it thoroughly between each addition. Once the dough mostly stops sticking, get in there with your hands (or a bread hook on a stand mixer). Kneed and add flour until the dough stops sticking.
When I am rising the dough, I make sure to get a shallow pan of water in my oven, preheat it, then shut if off while I make the dough. You want it warm, not hot or you will cook your bread too soon. Put it in a greased pan, let it rise one hour. After that kneed it a few times, then pop it back in. (reheat your oven if it's cold.) Wait another hour, your dough will double. Then turn the oven to about 350 and bake for about 45 minutes. You will know for sure your bread is done when it's golden, and when you tap it, it will sound hallow. Put some butter on that and it's amazing hot.
Extra things you can add into it:
Nuts and or fruit. Both bake wonderfully.
Cinnamon is another good addition to a nice hot loaf.
Get creative and try new things! Don't be scared to mess it up!
~Skadia, the break kneading panther.
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