Bluemouses Bread and Bagel Recipe...

[Newfygirl]

Would you use this same recipe for bread?? I don't have a bread machine so I'd be doing it by hand...what do I knead to know?

[bluemouse]

Was that a Freudian slip, Mish? LOL ;D

Here's a really good bread recipe:

1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
2 T. butter or oil
4 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 1/4 t. yeast (again, I use about a tablespoon)

Warm the milk - I prefer doing that in a saucepan, not in the microwave. Healthier, donchaknow. Don't make it hot, but you want your ingredients all about the same temperature, or the yeast has an uphill battle.

Put the sugar in the water (make that hot - I generally get it hot enough that it would kill the yeast if I put it in that second, because by the time I've added the sugar and stirred, it's dropped enough degrees that it's just right for the yeast to be added). Whisk it so that the sugar is dissolved, then add the yeast. Give it a few brief stirs to make sure the yeast is all mixed in, then set it aside and leave it be.

Now, put the flour in a bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Whisk together, then pour the milk and oil in. Don't mix it yet - pour the yeast mixture, which should have had about 10 minutes to rise and should be all fluffy and weird looking, on top of the oil and milk. Now stir this all together. You won't be able to use your whisk - a wooden spoon is best. Once the dough is sticking together and it's difficult to stir, dump it out on a floured surface and knead it well, until the dough is satiny smooth and not sticky to the touch. Add more flour if necessary - if it's too dry, then add a little extra water.

Once you're done kneading it, set it to rise in a greased, towel covered bowl in a warm spot. Once it's doubled in bulk, punch it down, divide into loaves (you should have two medium loaves with this recipe) and put in the greased bread pans. Let rise again until the tops clear the pans by a decent amount - bear in mind they'll rise more in the oven.

Set oven to 400 degrees, bake for 15 minutes, then turn the temp. down to 350 degrees and bake another 35-45 minutes. Depends on how done it looks. I can tell by looking now if my bread's done, but it took a lot of trial and error before I got to that point. So don't give up if your first efforts aren't medal worthy!

Oh, and btw - I also set the yeast to rise separately when I'm doing the bagels, even when I'm using bread machine (fast-acting) yeast. I've found it makes them rise better and taste yummier.

Mish, you can also add an egg to the above bread if you're feeling daring - bear in mind you'll need a little more flour, but it adds a nice flavor and is good for you.