I finally tried my hand at making bread. Let's face it, it's just way cheaper than buying it in the stores, plus there's no preservatives. I was surprised how easy it was too. I got the recipe from my favorite baking cookbook, the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking.
Here's what you need:
2 packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 cups whole milk, heated to warm
1/4 cup mild honey
2 large eggs
6 cups of whole-wheat flour plus extra for kneading and topping
2 teaspoons of sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
What to do:
In the bowl of your stand mixed dissolve the yeast in your warm milk and let stand until foamy (5 minutes)
Using a wire whisk stir in honey and eggs
Add flour, salt and butter
Place the dough hook on your mixer and knead on low speed
Add more flour as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl
Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (5-7 minutes).
Remove dough from bowl
Form dough into a ball and transfer into a lightly oiled bowl
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft free spot until it doubles (about 1 1/2-2 hours)
Butter 2 9x5 inch loaf pans
Punch down the dough and transfer to a clean work surface
Cut it in half and for each half evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand
Roll the bottom third up onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand
Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log
Place the log seam side down in the loaf pans
Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans
Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let the loaves rise in a warm, draft free spot until they double (45-60 minutes)
Position oven rack to the middle and preheat to 375 degrees
Dust the tops of the loaves with the flour
Bake until they are honey brown and sound hollow when tapped (35-40 minutes)
Remove loaves from pans and let completely cool before slicing.
Something important to keep in mind is that this bread will not last as long as store bought bread since there are no preservatives. Don't worry though, this bread is so yummy it won't last that long!
I broke out the trusty Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook last night and tried my hand at some old-fashioned oatmeal cookies! These were so easy to make and are so yummy!
What you need:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups raisins
What you need to do:
In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt (funny side note, I did not see this step when I made mine, whoops)
In a large bowl combine butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar
Beat on medium speed until smooth
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low speed until well blended
Add the dry ingredients (you know, the things I forgot to sift) and rolled oats until incorporated
Mix in raisins
Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons (I used a cookie scoop) onto baking sheets
Bake the cookies at 350 degress for 15-20 minutes
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on sheet and then transfer to wire racks
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