Bread Bread Bread

So I love bread.

Especially homemade bread.

or Great Harvest.

here are some of my favorite recipes!

Epicurious Multi grain bread

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsweetened multi-grain cereal (such as 7-grain)
2 cups boiling water
1 envelope dry yeast
4 1/3 cups (about) bread flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons flax seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 cups water

Place cereal in large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over.
 Let stand until mixture cools to between 105°F. and 115°F., about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle yeast over cereal.
Add 1 cup bread flour, oil, sugar and salt and stir until smooth.
Gradually mix in enough remaining bread flour to form dough.
Cover dough; let rest 15 minutes.
Turn out dough onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic,
adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes.
 Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat.
Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.
Mix all seeds in bowl. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly oiled surface. Knead briefly.
Shape into 12x4-inch loaf.Sprinkle baking sheet with 2 teaspoons seeds.
Place loaf atop seeds. Cover with towel. Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
Position 1 oven rack in center and 1 just below center in oven.
Place baking pan on lower rack and preheat oven to 425°F.
Brush loaf with water. Sprinkle with remaining seed mixture.
Using sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in surface of loaf.
Place baking sheet with loaf in oven.
Immediately pour 2 cups water into hot pan on lower rack in oven (water will steam).
Bake loaf until golden and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
{Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic; store at room temperature.}

No Knead Peasant Bread

{my husband loves this bread!}

 In my opinion, there is nothing better than a fresh loaf of bread hot out of the oven. 

It is pretty much the best thing ever. 

And for those that have never attempted homemade bread, this is the recipe to try.

 My mouth waters just thinking about the aroma of this homemade bread wafting through my home.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups of warm tap water

1 1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) active dry yeast (not instant)

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt


6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Use a very large mixing bowl.

Mix the water, yeast and salt in the bowl.
I let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Then dump the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon or your hands. 

You don’t need to knead this, and you’re not looking to make it come together into a dough ball. 

You just want everything mixed well, with no streaks of flour left, and you’re done. 

Leave it in your container, covered with a kitchen towel for a few hours. 

When it has risen and then deflated a bit, your dough is done.

 It’s ready to be used or stored in the refrigerator.

To bake the bread, just grab a chunk of dough, about the size of a grapefruit. 

Dust your hands with flour to help prevent sticking, and gently pull the sides of the dough toward the bottom, rotating the dough, until you get a roundish shape with a smooth surface. It should only take you about a minute or less to do this.

Put it on a cutting board that’s been dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking, and let it rest for at least 40 minutes. 

If the dough has been refrigerated, it helps to let it rest a little more, until it’s no longer chilled (so maybe for about an hour or so)

Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake, put a pizza stone in the middle rack of your oven, 

and put a cookie sheet in the bottom rack. 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. 

Dust some flour on the top of your loaf, and slash the top, about 1/4-inch deep.

After twenty minutes of preheating, it’s time to bake. 

Slide the loaf onto the baking stone, and then quickly pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the cookie sheet.

QUICKLY shut the oven door to keep the steam inside.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until you get a nice brown crust. 

Remove and let cool completely, if you can wait that long.

Popovers

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

place eggs, milk, butter, flour, and salt in mixer bowl. 

turn to speed 4 and beat for 15 seconds. 

stop and scrape sides, 

then beat again at speed 4 for 15 seconds.

fill heavily greased & floured tins* half full with batter.

 place in oven and then set heat to 450 degrees. 

after 15 minutes of oven warming up to 450, reduce heat to 350 degrees 

and bake 20-25 minutes more.

 remove from oven when they are puffed up and golden brown. 

serve warm!

*it says to use custard baking cups or popover tins, but use my regular muffin tins. the 

only difference with the popover tins is that the base of the roll will be taller!

Mini Cheddar Popovers

makes 24

(recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup shredded white cheddar

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and pepper until smooth, 

then stir in cheeses and herbs. 

Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest.

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.

Butter muffin pan with remaining tablespoon butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes.

Gently stir batter, then divide among muffin cups (they will be about two-thirds full). 

Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.



Simple Whole Wheat Bread

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
 1/3 cup honey
 5 cups bread flour
 3 tablespoons butter, melted
 1/3 cup honey
 1 tablespoon salt
 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. 
Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. 
Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. 
Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. 
Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky 
- just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch.
 This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. 
Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel.
 Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. 
Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. 
Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely