Easytomakebread Recipes

BASIC HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in warm water; let stand until bubbles form on surface. Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Stir oil into yeast mixture; pour into flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1-1/2 to 2 hours., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours., Bake at 375° until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped or has reached an internal temperature of 200°, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

QUICK & EASY HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• Combine water, yeast, salt, sugar, milk powder, egg, and butter in a large mixing bowl- stir with wooden spoon until well mixed.
• Slowly add the flour while still mixing- you don't have to add whole wheat flour, but I usually add about a cup just to give it some whole wheat flavor; then the rest can be white flour- you can do half and half also, or just all white- you are the cook, mix it up.
• Continue to add the flour to the dough (you will have to use your hands to mix it now)
• Once the dough becomes more of a ball and not so runny, pour the dough out of the bowl onto a floured countertop; knead dough with your hands for 10-15 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Keep adding flour until the dough is JUST sticky when you hold it- but not too sticky- you don't want it stuck to your fingers. Also, if you add too much flour, your bread will become heavy- so watch how much flour you add to your mixture!
• Shape dough into ball, place in a large bowl lightly rubbed with oil; cover with a light towel- let rise until doubled in size.
• Separate dough in half; shape into dough roll and place in lightly oiled bread pans. Brush with a beaten egg to give it that nice golden look when it comes out of the oven or brush lightly with water and sprinkle lightly with quick oats or poppy seeds- the possibilities are endless!
• Let loaves rise for 15-20 minutes- this is a personal choice, some people do not like big loaves of bread, while others do- so keep an eye on how big your loaves get, it is a personal choice of course.
• Place in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until done.(cooking time varies, depending on oven).
• Let sit in pans for 5 minutes then take the loaves out and set on wire rack to cool.
• Its great for toast, sandwiches, or still hot out of the oven as a snack!

EASY-BAKE BREAD

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a bowl and mix in the yeast with the salt. Stir in the water, oil and honey. Now bring together to make a soft dough - I use my hands, but a wooden spoon or knife from the cutlery drawer is fine. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins. It is worth putting in the time to do this as it will pay off later with lovely airy bread.
• Don't keep adding flour, a wet dough is better than a dry one, which will bake to a tough texture, so if you don't like the dough sticking to your hands, lightly oil them. If you are adding flavourings, knead them in gently now.
• Turn the dough into an oiled 1kg bread tin and cover with oiled cling film (or better still, a free unused shower cap from your last hotel stay!). Put in a warm place until the bread fills the tin, it should take between 1-2 hrs.
• Uncover and bake your bread at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30-35 mins until golden. Tip out of the tin and tap the base of the loaf. It should sound hollow when fully cooked. If not cooked, put loaf back in the oven out of the tin and test again after 10 mins. Cool.

SUPER-EASY SHORTBREAD (3 INGREDIENTS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!