During my Earth-Mother Period, I baked virtually all our bread. It’s a very Zen experience, the mixing and kneading, the at-one-ness with the dough. Then there’s the heavenly aroma of baking and the still-warm slice slathered in fresh, unsalted butter or jam. I usually made whole wheat or multigrain breads, which are fabulous with turkey and chutney or as toasted cheese and caramelized onion sandwiches, to say nothing of being a flavorful base for stuffing. And a toasted slice spread with almond butter is a substantial after-school snack.
Making yeast-risen bread is part art, part science, and part pure pleasure. It’s not that hard to do, and once you get the hang of it, you can branch out into things like focaccia, braided challah, curried loaf, (which is terrific with chicken salad), potato rolls, made with leftover mashed spuds, and sour dough. And you haven’t lived until you’ve pulled your own sweet rolls, buttery and cinnamon-fragrant out of the oven for a special Sunday breakfast or brunch.
It’s easiest to make bread in a warm kitchen – 65-70 degrees – and to start with all the ingredients at room temperature. Coolth slows the yeast, a live microorganism, and therefore the rising. Proofing the yeast in a cup of warm sugared water lets you see how active the yeast is. Be careful not to make the warm water too hot (above body temp) or it will kill the yeast and the bread will be more like a two-by-four than a loaf. Once the yeast proves that it’s active by bubbling and frothing up like a head of Guinness, you’re ready to mix.
The active time in bread-making is not that long. The initial mixing and kneading usually takes about twenty to twenty-five minutes – fifteen for mixing and another six or seven for kneading, which is also good therapy for working out aggressions. Leave the dough to rise for one-two hours, depending on the liveliness of the yeast, the density of the dough (whole-grain loaves often take a little longer) and the warmth of the spot you’ve left it in (75-95F is ideal). During this rising time, you can make soup, go off and have a pedicure, or chainsaw down some of the limbs that are still hanging after our winter’s storms. Once it’s risen to double its bulk, punch the dough down, form it free-style or fold it into a bread pan, and leave it to rise again. This time, you can go out for a one-martini lunch since it takes less time to rise the second time. Once it’s risen, put it into a 375F oven for its required time. Give it about ten minutes once it comes out of the oven, then slice and taste that first loaf while it’s still warm. Welcome to Earth-Personhood.
https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttermilk-Honey-Wheat-Bread/Detail.aspx
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/harvest-grains-ciabatta-recipe
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sally-lunn-recipe
https://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Course/Bread-Recipes/Yeast-Bread-Recipes
Stu says
Mmmm, bread. I used to eat 3 or 4 thick slices of my Mom’s oatmeal bread when it was fresh out of the oven, still soft enough that it’d tear if you didn’t butter it gently. Trying to pronounce the/your word “coolth” makes my mouth feel like it’s full of bread.