Basic Homemade White Bread

 Does anything smell better than bread baking in the oven? I think not!
So yesterday, I made this fantastic white bread that I have had bookmarked forever it seems like, and my house smelled heavenly with the aroma of freshly baked bread. This simple white bread has a tender, moist, but sturdy crumb, and makes the most wonderful toast. I can't wait to make grilled cheese sandwiches with it too.

I must admit to an accident though. When taking the bread out of the pans, I dropped a pan and it landed upside down on a chair! Thankfully not on the floor, but the top of the bread was torn up some. sigh~ So we ate that one first. I don't know if I've ever mentioned what a klutz I am; now you know.
 Anyway, these loaves are delicious to eat, easy to cut and make wonderful toast and sandwiches. Just what I was looking for in a homemade white bread. And the dough was so easy to work with. I used my mixer to stir it up, (and I about killed my hand-mixer) and then kneaded it for about 5 minutes. It only bakes for about 30 minutes so this bread was ready in time for lunch. I hope you'll give it a try!

Basic White Bread
Adapted from this wonderful blog, Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. Natasha adapted it from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Bread.

5 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour can be used)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt-I used fine sea salt
1 package Quick Rise yeast (2 1/4 teas.)
2 cups whole milk, warmed to about 120 degrees
3 tablespoons melted shortening, cooled

Directions: The recipe is originally mixed with a stand mixer, (but I used and almost killed my hand mixer). *Directions for stand mixer below.
1. Grease 2 loaf pans.
2. Put all ingredients into a large bowl. If mixing by hand, use 4 1/2 cups flour to start and add the extra 1/2 cup as needed. Stir bread well until it comes together. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Dough will come together in a nice ball and be very workable.
3. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. If kitchen is cool, it can take longer to double.
4. When dough has doubled, punch down. That release the air in the dough. Now divide the dough evenly in half. Shape each half in an oval, then roll ups and tuck the ends under. Lay into greased loaf pans. Cover and let dough rise about 45 minutes.
5.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake bread for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes. Internal temperature on bread should be 200 degrees F. When done, and loaves should sound hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove bread  (carefully), from pans and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!

*If using a stand mixer, mix with dough hook for 3 minutes to combine, and then 5minutes to knead. Then turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until it forms into a soft ball. Follow remaining directions above.

Homemade Sandwich Buns

 I finally made these fantastic Homemade Sandwich Buns last week. I've had them bookmarked forever from Cathy at Wives With Knives. If you haven't sen her blog, you need to pay her a visit. With gorgeous pictures and mouthwatering recipes, I can always find something to try there. These sandwich rolls are wonderful for any type of sandwich and they are ready  in about 60 minutes, start to finish! I used them for ham and cheese sandwiches and hamburgers and loved them. I made larger buns than Cathy does, which my husband loved, but they were too large for me. I made 10 buns, but next time will try 12. My husband ate the first one while it was still hot, you know, just to make sure they were OK. HaHa! Even a plain skillet fried hamburger tasted wonderful in these buns. They freeze wonderfully, so I'll be keeping these on hand. Hope you'll give them a try!

Homemade Sandwich Buns
Slightly adapted from Wives With Knives

1 cup milk - I used 2%
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup butter- I used unsalted butter
1 large egg, room temperature
4 1/2 cups flour- I used unbleached
1 package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt-I only used 1 teaspoon
1 beaten egg yolk, for brushing on the rolls before they bake
Sesame or poppy seeds for sprinkling on tops before baking

1. Heat the milk, honey, water and butter until the butter is melted. Cool to 120F. Beat in the egg.
2. Mix 2 cups of the flour, salt and yeast together. Stir into the milk mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. When the dough pulls together and forms a soft ball, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth, about 5 minutes. If dough is sticky, add a little more flour as you knead.
4. Divide dough into equal parts. I made 10 rolls, which turned out to be just right for my husband, but too much for me. Next time I'll make 12 rolls, like Cathy does.
5. Shape the dough into smooth balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten the rolls slightly with your hand.
6. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 30-40 minutes. When rolls are almost double in size, brush with beaten egg yolk, if desired. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Since my rolls were a bit larger, I baked them about 14 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

Amish Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting ( using left-over mashed potatoes!)

What comes to your mind when you think of cinnamon rolls? Is the sweet frosting your favorite, or maybe the filling? My favorite is the cinnamon infused bread. I Love cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven, with soft ribbons of dough infused with plenty of sweet, cinnamony filling, and topped with a luscious glaze. That describes these rolls perfectly! And that's why I don't make them very often, because I find them irresistible, even addictive. I've had this recipe bookmarked for months and they kept calling to me and I finally gave in to the craving. These Amish Cinnamon Rolls are pure bliss; you need to make them soon! These rolls contain leftover mashed potatoes, which gives the rolls a tender, pillowy, texture. My potatoes were mashed with milk, butter, and salt and pepper and they worked perfectly in this recipe. After the dough is mixed all together, I took it out of the bowl and kneaded it a few times just until it came together into a ball. Then the dough is placed in a large bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel and left to rise until doubled. It more than doubled and was so poofy.

Punch the dough down to deflate the air out of it, and roll into a large rectangle.

Spread the cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly over the dough, except for the edges.

Starting at the end nearest you, roil up the dough tightly and pinch the seem together at the end. Work it to keep the roll as even as possible while rolling.

Cut the roll into even slices with a sharp knife. Carefully lift them and arrange in baking pans. I used four round 9 inch pans, and I wanted to share these treats with my sons and their families.

Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let them rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Then bake in the oven. Try to be patient.

I frosted these rolls while they were still warm, but not right out of the oven. Let them cool off just a bit.

I ate one immediately; I'm weak when it comes to warm cinnamon rolls-very, very weak! These were fantastic and made my husband so happy. I hope you'll give them a try when the craving hits you.

In this recipe, I changed the margarine to butter, made more filling and gave more directions for making these delicious rolls. There just wasn't enough directions for someone who might want to make cinnamon rolls for the first time. This may look like a long recipe, but it's easy and comes together quickly. Amish Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting

adapted from a recipe at Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the rolls:

2 teaspoons plus 2/3 cup of sugar-divided

1 cup warm water

2 packages yeast, 0.25 (1/4) ounce packets

4 whole eggs, beaten

2/3 cup melted salt-free butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup homemade mashed potatoes-room temperature

about 6 cups bread flour- you may not use all of it

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons softened butter

For the Caramel Frosting:

1 stick butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk - I used around 2 more tablespoons to thin down the frosting some

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. For the rolls, mix the 2 teaspoons of sugar, warm water and yeast together in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. It will get bubbly.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beaten eggs, the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter and the mashed potatoes and combine well.

3. Stir the yeast mixture into the egg mixture. Now add 2 cups of bread flour and combine well.

4. Add more flour, 1 cup at a time, combining well after each addition. When you add the fifth cup, dough will be less sticky so add only as much flour as needed to form dough into a ball. I used about 5 1/2 cups flour, but used the rest while kneading the dough and rolling it out.

5. Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough just until it all comes together in a smooth ball. Add extra flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking to your work area. Place dough in a large bowl and let rise until doubled. Directions say 2 hours, but mine was ready in 1 hour 30 minutes.

6. When dough has risen, punch it down in the bowl, deflating the air. Knead a few times on a lightly floured surface. Now you can roll out all the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, but I cut the dough in half and worked with half of it at a time. In my small kitchen, that was easier for me. Try to roll the dough into a rectangular shape. I rolled each half of my dough into approximately a 20 in. by 16 inch rectangle.

7. In a small bow, mix together the filling ingredients-the brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.

8. Spread the softened butter gently over the rolled out dough; sprinkle the filling ingredients over the rolled out dough and lightly press into the dough.

9. Starting at the edge closest to you, begin rolling up the dough. Continue until it's all rolled and then try pinching the edge to seal it. Cut this roll into sections. I made 28 rolls; that fit 7 rolls into each of my four, 9 inch round pans. So, I cut the long roll in half, then each half in half again, and kept going until I had 28 fairly even sections of rolls. Place each roll in a greased pan (I used 4 round pans). Cover with clean towels and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pans of rolls in the oven and bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.

10. While the rolls are baking make the frosting. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Cook for about 2 minutes; mixture will be grainy. Add the milk and cook for about 30 seconds until no longer grainy.. Remove pan from heat and add the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar and let cool. (If the powdered sugar is lumpy, you may need to sift it, or use an electric mixer to beat it until smooth).

11. Remove the rolls from the oven. Let cool slightly.

12. Frost the rolls. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit of milk to thin it to the desired consistency.

Enjoy the fruit of your labor!

NOTE: These rolls could be baked in a large baking sheet also. I also think that 3 round pans could be used; it would just make larger rolls.

Homemade French Bread

Don't you just love the aroma of homemade bread bread baking in the oven? Last week when the weather was cold and snowy, I had the urge to bake this French Bread to go with a big pot of soup. It's been quite awhile since I have made this, but this tasty bread is one of my family's favorites. Chewy and deliciously crusty on the outside, and soft, but yet dense on the inside, this bread is perfect with soups and stews or used to make garlic toast. I've been working on this post for several days and happy to finally have it posted as Blogger has been giving me fits. But we've been savoring our French Bread. If you like to bake your own bread, I think you will enjoy this one. Let me show you how.

After the dough is all stirred up it will be rather sticky looking, but will smooth out as it is kneaded. I like kneading the dough; I find it very therapeutic!

After a few minutes of kneading it should be a nice smooth, elastic ball. Then it needs to rise.

Isn't it pretty? It will double in size in about an hour.

After it has risen you "punch it down", which deflates the air out of the dough. Then It has to rise a second time, only about 30 minutes this time around. Deflate it again and divide the dough into three equal pieces.

Each piece of dough is rolled out a bit and then rolled up into individual loaves, and placed on baking sheets that have been greased and dusted with corn meal.

Cover each loaf with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubles again. This is the last rising. Preheat your oven at this time.

When the dough has doubled, take a sharp knife and gently score each loaf of bread. don't cut too deeply. Then brush each loaf with beaten egg white. Bake in the oven till golden and you will have some fantastic looking bread! Try not to cut it right away and let it cool-yea, right! When my kids were all home everyone was standing around like vultures waiting for a hot slice to slather with butter. The first loaf was gone in a matter of minutes! It's a good thing this recipe makes 3 loaves. Or sometimes I make two larger loaves. Here's the recipe.

CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

from a Family Circle cookbook

1 envelope active dry yeast- 2 1/4 teaspoons

2 cups very warm water

6 cups sifted all purpose flour-you may not use all of it

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons salt-Recipe calls for 3 tea.

2 tablespoons shortening-I sometimes use olive oil

cornmeal for dusting the pans

1 egg white

1 tablespoon cold water

1. Pour the very warm water in a large bowl. (The water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast into the water. Stir until the yeast dissolves.

2. Stir in 3 cups of the flour, the sugar, shortening and salt; beat until smooth. Slowly beat in enough of the remaining 3 cups of flour to make a stiff dough. It will still be somewhat sticky in appearance.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead for about 5 minutes. I find this rather therapeutic! Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, using only as much of the remaining flour to keep dough from sticking. Like I said, you may not end up using all the flour.

4. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn to coat all over with the shortening. Or, brush very lightly with oil. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place to rise. It should double in 45-60 minutes.

5. When dough has doubled, punch it down (deflate it), and cover and let it rise a second time, until doubled in size. This will take around 30 minutes.

6. Punch down the dough again and knead 1 minute on a lightly floured surface. cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into about a 12x9 inch rectangle. Roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch the seam together. Tuck the ends underneath. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.

7. Place the bread on the prepared baking sheets: cover and let rise until doubles again, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. at least 15 minutes before loaves are ready to bake.

8. Make several evenly placed diagonal cuts on top of each loaf. Beat together the egg white and the 1 tablespoon of cold water: brush over each loaf of bread gently with a pastry brush.

9. Place a pan of hot water on bottom shelf of the oven. Place baking sheet with loaves on shelf above the water.

10. Bake in a hot 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from baking pans and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!

NOTE: If your baking sheet is very large you may be able to bake all three loaves on 1 sheet. But you don't want the loaves too close together. Since I made one round loaf, I baked it on a second baking pan.
Another NOTE: I usually freeze 1 or 2 loaves of this bread. Double wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil or a heavy freezer bag. It will keep for a couple of weeks.