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Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes From: Anne Louise Gockel <alg@cs.cornell.edu> Subject: BREAD: Bread Recipes Collection Message-ID: <D14PJUJ@taronga.com> Organization: Taronga Park BBS Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 09:57:57 -0500 Lines: 1090

The following is my favorite collection of bread recipes. There is a bibliography near the end of this list. There are several sourdough recipes as well as several recipes for cheese breads, whole wheat breads and breads with oatmeal. Please post this collection to rec.food.recipes at your convenience in whatever manner you prefer...... or suggest changes that you think are appropriate. -Anne Louise Gockel Cornell Computer Science

Internet: alg@cs.cornell.edu UUCP: cornell!alg ------------- All of the following recipes have been adapted from the sources listed. These recipes reflect how I make them, not neccessarily how the author intended them to be made. I've only included the recipes that I thought were generally good and successful.

I regularly add one step that is nonstandard: I almost always give the bread an extra rising when the flour is half mixed in. The extra rising make the bread smoother. With sourdough the extra rising allows the starter to digest many of the lumps of flour which makes the dough almost silky soft. After adding about 1/3 - 1/2 of the flour the dough is the texture of muffin, waffle or brownie batter and I let it rise until doubled. Some of the recipes (esp the ones with potato) refer to this as a "slurry". Some recipes, especially those that use potato to enhance the yeast, do call for this extra rising; however I add this step to all bread recipes.

Please note that I got tired of typing while entering these recipes. The first recipes have much more detail than the later ones. The early ones may say "Turn dough onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as neeeded." The later ones say "Knead." If the later recipes look sparse, read a few of the earlier ones for added details. I trust you'll get the idea.

All bread cookbooks try to describe what bread that has the proper amount of kneading looks and feels like. Most cookbooks say that the properly bread is "smooth and elastic". The "smooth" part is easy. I've never known exactly have to interpert the "elastic" part. _The Enchanted Brocali Forest_ describes the kneaded bread as "the consistency of your earlobe". I think this is actually one of the better descriptions. The bread is not really sticky, and it has some give and flexibility. So take off your earrings and check it out. Additionally, _The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ illustrates taking a piece of bread dough and stretching it to see the gluten. A small piece can be stretched until it is almost paper thin without tearing (well, without tearing too much!) and you can see the gluten strings when you hold the dough up to the light. If you cannot stretch the dough fairly thin without tearing it to pieces, it needs another 100 strokes of kneading. Bread with alot of oatmeal or cheese may be more difficult to stretch and may require more kneading.

I have been told that it is almost impossible to overknead bread if you are kneading by hand. I think this is true. You can overknead with a mixer or a food processor, but not by hand. Laurel's Kitchen suggests kneading each loaf of whole wheat bread 300 times (e.g. 600 times for two loaves). This is definitely a good rule for the bread made only from whole wheat flour. I find that 400-500 strokes is usually adequate for two loaves of bread that contains at least half white flour.

The purpose of kneading bread is to cause the gluten to form and the bread becomes smooth. The purpose is NOT to incorporate flour. You might use a kneading sort of action to mix some of the flour into the dough when the dough is too heavy for other utensils. During the kneading stage, you need to use flour or water to keep the dough from sticking to your board and invariably some will be incorporated into the dough. But incorporating flour is NOT the purpose of kneading! Indeed, Laurel's Kitchen recommends kneading using water to control sticking instead of flour. (And I know that sounds sacrilegious, but I tried it and *it works*.)

To proof yeast, fill a small metal or ceramic bowl with very very hot water. This will warm the bowl. When the bowl is warm, dump out the hot water and add 1/4 cup of water at 85-95 degrees. This is "baby milk" temperature; when you place this water on the inside of your wrist it feels warm, but does not hurt. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir it in. Add 1/4 cup or less of sugar. Let the yeast sit for 15-30 minutes. it should form a bubbly head at least 1" high; this is similar to the foam on a head of beer. If the yeast doesn't rise within 30 minutes your yeast may be dead; throw it out and try a fresher package of yeast. If your yeast rises only an inch and it takes 30 minutes to rise, the yeast isn't very strong; consider using extra yeast so your bread will rise as expected.

Some cookbooks say that when you make a double recipie you should not double the quantity of yeast. I usually double the quantity of yeast for a double recipe, but I'm the sort of person that never follows instructions.

When baking bread I usually make an extra small loaf of bread for eating immediately. If a large loaf of bread is cut while it is steaming hot, the loaf will usually collapse and be less attractive after it cools. If you plan to eat the entire loaf in a few hours this is fine; but if you only want a slice or two you may not wish to damage the rest of the loaf.

If you look around you should be able to find a small, 6"x3" loaf pan that holds about 1/3 - 1/2 of a loaf of bread. Simply increase the liquids and flour in your recipe by about 1/4 and you will have enough dough for this small loaf pan. If you have extra ingredients like oatmeal or cheese you might increase them a bit, but it's not neccessary. The small loaf can be served hot directly from the oven as a treat for the cook and anyone else hanging around the kitchen.

Basic Sourdough Starter (from Sourdough Cookery)

First: see if you can get some from your friend instead! If not: 2 c. flour 1 tsp salt 3 tbl sugar 1 tbl yeast (1/2 pkg) 2 c. lukewarm water

Never let sourdough starter touch metal. Use a wooden spoon and plastic, ceramic or wooden bowl.

With a wooden spoon stir dry ingredients together and gradually add warm water. Stir until mixture resembles a smooth paste. Cover with towel and set in a warm place to sour. Stir mixture several times a day. In 2-3 days the sourdough will be ready.

Store in a plastic container, with holes punched in the lid to allow gases to escape. I use a yogurt or margarine container with holes in the lid.

To make batter for a recipe, take out 1 cup stater and add 1 cup flour and 1 cup lukewarm water. (I usually just use all of the starter and add 1 cup or more of flour and water). Stir with a wooden spoon. Don't worry about the lumps. Cover and set in a warm location overnight (or at least for a few hours). Before you use the starter be sure to save at least 1/2 cup (add it to any saved starter). As soon as the lumps are gone it's ok to use the batter. If you leave it overnight it may seperate before morning, just stir it back together.

Once a week replenish the starter this way. I typically just put all of the starter into a bowl and add 1/2 - 1 1/2 cup of flour and water. If I don't intend to make bread I use just 1/2 cup, if I need alot of starter I use up to 1 1/2 cups. The starter stays more "sour" if you leave it on the counter for several days at a time and if you try not to add too much flour at any one time. However I have never gotten a truely sour sourdough out of this starter (well, see additional notes below).

If the starter starts acting somewhat whimpy, add 1 tbl of yeast when you replenish it. Be sure to occassionally completely clean the container that you use for storing the starter!

I find that the starter occassionally puts off a bit of grey liquid on the top of the container. I usually pour this off. As the starter matures the amount of grey liquid decreases.

There are other starters in this book, including one made from yogurt. I'm slightly reluctant to keep a yogurt starter going forever, but a friend claims he had one he really liked. I may try that as I prefer a good sour bread.

Sourdough Bread, regular: (Based on recipe in _Sourdough Cookery_ pg 35)

2 - 2 1/2 c refreshed starter (refresh the starter using about 2 cups flour and 2 cups water, use 2 cups for this recipe and put the rest back in the refrigerator) 1 cup milk (if you want sour bread, use yogurt; but that still doesn't make it *real* sour) 3 tbl butter or margarine 2 tsp salt 1 pkg (2 3/4 tsp, 1 scant tbl) yeast proofed in 1/4 cup warm water and 2 tbl sugar 6 1/2 cup flour (approx) 1 tsp baking soda

Remember: Never let sourdough starter touch metal. Use a wooden spoon and plastic, ceramic or wooden bowl. I use a plastic bowl and wooden spoon for the entire process.

Heat milk or yogurt until scalded. Remove from heat. Add butter or margarine (so it melts). Let cool.

When cooled to lukewarm, combine milk/yogurt with the starter and the yeast. Put 2 cups of flour and the baking soda and salt in a sifter (which mixes it together nicely) and sift into starter. Mix until fairly smooth. The mixture should be about as thick as a brownie batter. If it's too thin add a bit more flour.

Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes until doubled.

Using a heavy wooden spoon (get a real strong one from JPMeads! for <$3!) mix in the remaining flour about 1 cup at a time. When it's too hard to mix, knead it with your hands in the bowl until it stops being very sticky.

Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead it, continueing to incorporate flour as needed. Knead 5 minutes or more until smooth and elastic. The dough will be extremely smooth and silky.

Let dough rise for 1-2 hours until doubled. Punch down. Seperate into 2 loaves (or 2 1/2 loaves). Shape into loaves or shape into round loaves and place in greased 8-9" pie pans.

Let rise until about 1 1/2 times original size. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until done. Yum.

Variation: Add 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1 cup diced pepperoni or ham to the first slurry mixture. A real favorite!

Variation: 7/6/92: I accidentally learned how to make sourdough bread that's very sour. I mixed up some bread adding flour until it was the consistency of brownie dough. As always, I left the bread to rise. Well, things got hectic and I left the bread at this stage for about 12 hours. Then I put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning I let it warm up, finished making and kneading the dough and baked it as usual. Basically the dough sat for at least 24 hours and the sourdough starter dispersed throughout the batter!

The result was a loaf of sourdough bread that is very *sour*! Like the "San Fransisco sourdough" we used to find in Seattle. Love it!!!

Sourdough Oatmeal Bread (Based on recipe in _Sourdough Cookery_ page 44)

1 1/2 cups refreshed starter 2 cup oatmeal 1 1/2 cup yogurt (or milk) 1/2 cup molasses 1/4 cup brown sugar (I substitute 1/2 cup honey for both molasses and brown sugar) 3 tbl margarine (melted or at least softened) 1 package yeast (1 scant tbl) proofed in 1/4 cup warm water and 2 tbl sugar 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp salt 3 - 4 1/2 cup flour

Heat the yogurt until almost boiling. Pour it over the oatmeal and stir and let stand a while so the oatmeal softens. Add margarine and sugar/molasses/honey. When cooled to lukewarm add the yeast mixture and the sourdough starter.

Sift 1 cup flour and baking soda and salt and add. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover and let rise.

Add the rest of the flour mixing it in. When it's too stiff to mix, continue mixing in the bowl with your hands. When it's no longer sticky, turn onto a floured board and knead, adding flour as needed.

Let the dough rise. Punch down, divide into two loaves, shape and place in greased loaf pans. Let the dough rise again. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Variations:

Add 1 cup shredded mozerella, montaray jack or munster cheese to the oatmeal mixture. This bread will last *forever*. We took it in the car on a road trip for 5 days and on the 5th day it was as fresh as on the first day. Furthermore the consistency of this bread is very good; it can be sliced very thinly without crumbling.

Substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour for the oatmeal. Add 1 cup shredded cheese.

Tomato-Cheese Sourdough Bread (Based on recipe in _Sourdough Cookery_ page 50)

Really MARVELOUS bread! Quickly disappears at parties.

Yield: two *large* round loaves

1 cup refreshed starter 1 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes 1/2 can tomato paste 2 pkgs (2 tbl) yeast proofed in 1/4 cup water and 2 tbl sugar 3/4 - 1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated 1/2 tsp baking powder 2-3 tbl margarine or butter, melted 2 tsp salt 6 cups flour

Remove tomatoes from their juice and dice them into small pieces. Add diced tomatoes, about half of the juice from the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and cheese to the starter mixture. Add the melted margarine. Mix. Add the yeast.

Sift baking powder and salt with 2 cups of flour. Add to the starter mixture. You should have a slurry the consistancy of brownie batter (add another cup of flour if need be).

Let the slurry rise until doubled in bulk. Add the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time. When the mixture is too stiff to stir, continue adding flour while kneading it in the bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and knead (while adding flour as neede). The dough should be very smooth and silky.

The dough rise until doubled. It rises fairly quickly. Punch down and divide into 2 or 2 1/2 loaves. Form into loaves and place in greased loaf pans or greased 8-9" pie pans. I use 2 pie pans and a small half-loaf pan; the round loaves are huge! Let rise. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Variation: add some refreshed dried tomatoes. You might want to cut down on the tomato paste and tomato juice with this variation.

Superb Margherita Pizza (Based on recipe in _Sourdough Cookery_ page 212) 2 very large pizzas (actually almost enough dough for 3 pizzas)

1 1/2 cups replenished sourdough starter 1 cup scalded milk 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbl butter or margarine 1 tbl yeast proofed in 1/4 cup water and 2 tbl sugar) 3-4 cup flour

olive oil 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves handful fresh oregano leaves (optional) 3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced oil 1 large can Italian plum tomatoes, diced (or 1 1/2 cans preferred) Mozzerella cheese 1/8 - 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Put margarine in milk so it melts. Add salt. Let milk mixture cool. When cooled add to yeast. Add 1 cup flour. If you have time, let this slurry rise. If you don't, add the rest of the flour. Knead the dough, it will be fairly soft and silky. Let rise. Divide into two (or 3?) and line a greased pizza pan or 16"x13" pan.

Heat some oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and fry until brown. Add the diced tomatoes. Reserve the juice in case you decide you want it later. Stir the tomatoes and cook them lightly until you get a nice tomatoe sauce. It won't be too thick and it will be quite chunky.

Spread a very thin layer of olive oil over the pizza crust. Place the basil and oregano leaves on the pizza. Pour tomato sauce on top of the fresh herbs. Cover with shredded mozerella cheese. Put a small amount of parmesan cheese on top. Be sure to let the pizza rise for about 30 minutes or it will come out real flat and cardboardy. Then bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

This is WONDERFUL pizza and it keeps much longer than most comercial pizzas (it's still good almost a week later!). Reheat in the oven instead of the nuke if possible of course. Very very very tasty.

Variations:

- you can top a pizza with pesto and refreshed dried tomatoes. I'ld probably add a bit of cheese, but you don't have to. That's the yuppie variation.

- Top with slices of fresh tomatoes before baking

- Substitute (lightly cooked) spinach for the basil, add mushrooms, top with sliced fresh tomatoes.

Carl Gohs' Bread (from Beard on Bread, page 37)

The first time I made this I thought it was wonderful. Later attempts did not seem quite as moist nor did they rise as high. I think you should not use more than about 3/4 cup of WW flour. This bread is alot of work, but very tasty.

3 pkgs (3 tbl) yeast refreshed in 1/2 cup water and 1 tbl brown sugar (or 2 tbl white sugar) 4 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1 med potato, unpeeled, boiled in 2 cups water 1 cup wheat germ 1/2 cup dried milk 2 tsp salt

Proof the yeast until it gets a 2" head. Add 1/2 cup flour and stir until it's a smooth paste. Set this sponge aside to rise for about an hour. Each time it doubles in bulk, stir it down.

Boil potato until it is done. Place it in a potato ricer. SAVE the water! Push the potato through the ricer until you have a very smooth mashed potato. Measure 1 1/2 cups potato water (add tap water if you have to). Add the mashed potato to the water and set aside to cool.

Combine whole wheat flour, 1 cup regular flour, wheat germ, dried milk and salt. Stir well. When potato mixture has cooled and yeast mixture has been deflated at least two times, add both to the flour mixture. Stir until all ingredients are well blended. Add up to another 1 cup of flour until mixture is a slurry the consistency of brownie mixture. Cover and set aside to rise.

Add the rest of the flour and knead the bread. Let rise about 1-2 hours until doubled in bulk. Divide in two and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise again. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Immediately reduce heat to 400 degrees when you put the bread into the oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

Cracked Wheat Bread (from Beard on Bread, pg 71)

This is a MARVELOUS bread that I really like

1/2 cup of mixture of bulgher wheat and pearl barley (I use about 2/3 wheat and 1/3 barley) 3/4 cup boiling water 1 package yeast (1 tbl) proofed in 1/2 cup water and 2 tbl sugar 1/4 cup margarine or butter 2 tsp salt 2 tbl molasses 2 tbl honey 1 cup milk 1 cup whole wheat flour 4 cups white flour

Pour the boiling water over the cracked wheat + barley, cover tightly and let stand for 30 minutes until cooked.

Scald the milk and add the butter, salt, molasses and honey. Cool to lukewarm then add to yeast mixture. Add the whole wheat flour and up to 1 cup of the white flour. When the mixture is about as stiff as brownie dough cover it and let it rise.

Add the rest of the flour, knead and let rise. Divide into two loaves, put into greased pans and let rise. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

This is one of my favorite recipes and it always seems to come out wonderfully!!!

Oatmeal Bread (from Beard on Bread pg 90)

This bread is somewhat heavy and dense but is very good toasted with cheese on top. One of my other cookbooks has an oatmeal and swiss cheese recipe and that sounds like an interesting variation.

1 cup oatmeal 1 cup boiling water 2 pkg yeast (2 tbl) proofed in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tbl sugar 1 cup scalded milk 3 tbl margarine or butter 1 tbl salt 1/4 cup brown sugar (or honey) 4-5 cups flour

Cook the oats in the water until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the warm milk, salt, brown sugar or honey and margarine. Mix together. Let cool.

When cooled add the yeast. Add about 1-2 cups of flour until mixture has consistency of brownie batter. Let rise. Add the rest of the flour. Knead, adding flour as needed.

Let rise. Punch down and divide into two. Form into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise. Bake 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. CAUTION: my notes say to check them after 35-40 minutes!

Whole Wheat Rollup Loaves, 2 loaves, roughly based on Cinnamon Swirl Loaf in The Complete Book of Breads

A very soft WW bread that has various treats rolled up in it. When I made it I found that the bread tended to seperate and get huge holes between the filling and the bread. I don't know how to solve this problem. The idea came from a spinach and feta rollup that Kim got at Ludgates.

Place 2 cup white flour 1 tsp salt in mixing bowl

Heat 1 1/4 cup milk (or yogurt) Add 1/4 cup margarine

Proof 1 1/2 package yeast (1 1/2 tbl) in 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tbl sugar

Add 1/4 cup honey to milk and margarine mixture. Let cool until lukewarm.

When cooled, add milk and yeast mixtures to the dry ingredients. Mix with a mixer on medium for 2 minutes.

Add 2 eggs 3/4 cup wheat germ (and/or oat bran, etc) 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup shredded fresh herb such as basil (optional)

Mix 3 minutes more. Should be a medium thick dough

Let rise

Add 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cup flour (4 1/2 - 5 1/2 cup flour TOTAL)

Knead. Let rise. Divide into two. Roll each half out flat. Spread with filling. Roll up. Pinch *TIGHTLY* shut. Let rise. I do not know how to prevent the dough from seperating from the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick.

Possible fillings: shredded cheese and diced ham shredded chesse and pieces of spinach

It may be helpful to spread the dough with a thin layer of butter or room-temperature cream cheese or ricotta before adding the filling. When I spread the dough with cream cheese, the dough did NOT seperate from the cream cheese. This implies you might have to spread the cream cheese on both sides of the dough before rolling it up?

Idea: Try twisting the bread after you make a loaf and before you put it in the pan. Twist it 1-2 times. This won't prevent the holes, but it will make it so the holes swirl through the loaf instead of cutting the loaf into multiple pieces horizontally.

Despite the holes, this is a very good bread. Very soft and light. Almost like a soft dinner roll.

Herb Bread (based on Potato Bread in The Complete Book of Bread)

Proof 1 package of yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and 1-2 tbl sugar

Boil 3 small potatoes in 2 cups water and rice them (see Carl Goh's bread above). Result: 1 1/2 cup potato water 3/4 cup boiled, riced potato

Combine potato, potato water with 1/2 cup butter 1 tsp salt 1 tbl sugar 1/2 cup dried milk When cooled, add the yeast mixture.

Add 2 - 2 1/2 cup flour to make a slurry the consistency of brownie batter. (Or use 1 cup flour and 1 cup wheat germ). Stir to remove most of the lumps. Let rise for an hour or more.

Add 4-6 cups flour and knead. The dough is very soft and smooth! Let rise for an hour or more. Knead for a few more minutes and divide into three pieces.

Roll each piece out flat. Sprinkle with some fresh herbs (one herb per loaf), such as: 1 tbl diced fresh basil 2 tsp diced fresh rosemary 2 tsp diced fresh oregano fresh dill savory marjaram thyme

Fold up each piece and knead it to distribute the herbs. Make each piece into a loaf (or put in a 8-9" pie pan) and let rise. Bake at 375 degrees.

Wheat and Oat Bread (Based on recipe in _Complete Book of Bread_)

This is a MARVELOUS Bread!!! It's extremely tasty and very good warm from the oven. It's also good lightly toasted or even completely toasted. It's sweet, you could cut back the honey, but it's GOOD!

2 packages yeast proofed in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tbl sugar 1 cup oatmeal 2 tsp salt 2 tbl margarine or butter 1 cup raisens (or substitute dried apples or other dried fruit for some of the raisens) 1 cup bran (I used wheat bran) 2 3/4 cup boiling water 3/4 cup molasses (I used half molasses and half honey!) 1 cup whole wheat flour 6 cups white flour

Proof the yeast.

Combine oatmeal, salt, margarine, raisens and bran. Pour the boiling water over this. Stir and set aside to cool. This may take a half hour or more. Add the molasses/honey. Test the mixture with your wrist. When lukewarm add the yeast mixture. Stir in the WW flour and 1-2 cups of white flour. When the dough has the consistency of brownie batter, cover it and let it sit aside to rise until doubled in bulk.

Add the rest of the flour. When too stiff to mix, continue to add flour while kneading it within the bowl. When dough is no longer sticky, turn onto a floured board and knead while adding flour.

This dough is a very rich, moist, firm dough. It has a very warm and rich feeling, and a sweet wholesome smell. Be sure to knead it thoroughly.

Let dough rise. Punch down and knead for a few more minutes. Divide into two (or 2 1/2) pieces. Form loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (check it before then). Remember that the loaf is fairly dark in color so don't try to judge doneness just by color!

Cheddar Cheese Bread (based on recipe in _Complete Book of Bread_)

A very tasty bread, appropriate for any party. The cheddar cheese flavor is strong, so you should probably serve this with just butter or cream cheese; the flavor may be too strong for sandwiches. The consistency of the bread is good, it crumbles a bit, but not too much. Very very rich because of all the cheese.

Yield: 2 loaves

2 cups water 2 tsp salt (or 1&1/2 tsp if you use salty margarine) 2-3 tbl butter or margarine 1/2 cup dried milk 12 oz === 3 cups grated extra sharp cheddar you can add some parmesan or another type of cheese if desired 1 package yeast proofed with 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup or less sugar 6 cups bread flour

Heat the water until it boils. If you have a microwave, heat it in a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup. When it's boiling, add the cheese, salt, butter, dried milk. Stir. The cheese should start to melt right away. Stir to encourage the cheese to melt and to mix the ingredients together.

(Alternatively: add 2/3 of the cheese to the water and reserve the last cup of cheese for adding with the flour.)

When cheese mixture has cooled, place in a large bowl. Add a cup or two of flour, which will cool it further. Add the yeast mixture. Add another cup of flour. When the mixture is the consistency of brownie dough, let it sit for about 30-60 minutes so it rises.

Continue adding flour 1 cup at a time. You may need more than the 6 cups recommended. Mix in the flour, then turn the dough onto a board and knead it. Knead for 10 minutes or until it is the right consistency and no longer sticky.

Let rise for up to an hour. I find that this particular bread rises *very* fast.

Form into two loaves. You might prefer round loaves, but I usually make rectangular loaves. Let rise 30-60 minutes; again, it rises very quickly!

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes. The book specifies 45 minutes, but I find this too long. The bread browns very quickly. Check it after 20 minutes and if it is very brown, consider turning the oven down to 350 degrees. Cook until loaves are well browned and cooked through. I find that this bread cooks very quickly and is usually done in 35 minutes or so.

Rice Bread

In _English Bread and Yeast Cookery_, Elizabeth David says that she has come across several recipes that add cooked rice to bread. She feels that the rice improves the keeping quality of the bread. She suggests adding a maximum of 1/2 cup raw rice for each loaf of bread. She also likes using brown rice.

I made the following recipe with brown rice. The bread was fairly dense and full of rice kernel munchies (like crunchies, but no crunch!). It was very good bread when lightly toasted or warmed and topped with melted cheese.

This recipe combines David's suggestion with the standard homemade bread recipe in Beard's book.

3/4 cup brown rice 1/4 cup barley 1 1/2 cup water Cook the brown rice and barley in the water until done. This will take about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool. Note: you can also use cooked white rice. I usually cook 1 cup of rinsed white rice in 1 3/4 cup water.

1 package of yeast 2 tbl sugar 1/4 cup warm water Proof the yeast in the water and sugar. Optionally add about 1/4 cup after the first rising and let the yeast proof again.

2 cup scalded milk 1/4 cup melted butter (it will melt in the hot milk) (or slightly more) 2 tsp salt 1/2 cup wheat germ Combine. Add the rice mixture. Set aside and let cool. If you stir it it will cool slightly faster.

When the milk/rice mixture has cooled to a baby's milk temperature, add the yeast mixture. Add 1-2 cups of flour to make a sponge the consistency of brownie batter. Let the sponge rise.

Add another 2-4 cups of flour. Knead the bread thoroughly. Shape into 2 or 2 1/2 loaves and let the loaves rise. The bread doesn't seem to rise much in the oven so let the loaves rise as high as you want them. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Dilly Casserole Bread (from Complete Book of Bread)

According to one cookbook, the original dill (or double dill) bread was a prize winning recipe in the 19XX (1920?) World's Fair and since then there have been many variations. The key ingredients are cottage cheese and dill seeds or weed.

I haven't actually made this bread but I keep meaning to. I think there's a recipe in every cookbook, this one is from CBoB.

1 pkg yeast 1/4 cup water 1 cup cottage cheese at room temperature 2 tbl sugar 1 tbl instant onion bits 2 tsp dill seeds (or dill weed (or both?!)) 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 egg 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cup flour Glaze: 1/2 tsp melted butter to brush top and sprinkle of salt

Grease a 1 1/2 qt casserole dish (approx 7" diameter, 4" deep). I'm sure a loaf pan will also work!

Proof yeast.

In a saucepan heat cottage cheese until warm to the touch. Pour cottage cheese into bowl with yeast and add sugar, onion bits, dill seeds (or weed), salt, baking soda and egg. Add flour, a half cup at a time, to make a stiff batter. BEat will after each addition.

Cover and let rise. Stir down and turn into casserole dish. Cover and let rise again. NOTE: Beard on Bread DOES knead this bread!!!

Cover and let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees until deep brown and crusty. Check with a toothpick. Cover with foil or brown paper for the last 15 minutes to prevent excesive browning.

Remove bread from oven. Immediately brush with butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the casserole dish.

From: mqh@eagle.TC.cornell.edu (Mike Hojnowski (AIX Grunt)) Subject: Garlic Potato Bread Date: Mon, 25 Nov 91 22:46:38 EST

>From A World of Breads by Dolores Casella

This is a highly unusual but delicious bread. It's best served at barbecues, or with a hearty meal. I always serve it with barbecued spareribs.

1 large potatoe, boiled, cooled, and grated (1 1/2 cups grated potato) 1 large clove garlic put through a garlic press 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup warm potato water 1 cake yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 2 cups flour softened butter

Combine the potato, garlic (use more garlic if desired), salt, potato water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until the yeast is dissolved and then add the flour. You will have to finish mixing this dough with your hands. When it is thoroughly blended, brush the top of the dough with soft butter, cover, and let rise until doubled. Punch the dough down and turn it into a well- buttered 8 or 9-inch skillet. Brush the top of the dough with soft butter again and let rise again. Bake in a 425 degree oven until well browned and done, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

>From Laura Marks:

Oat Bread, 4 loaves

3 cups rolled oats 3 cups whole wheat flour 7/8 cup honey 4 tbl butter 1 tbl salt 4 cups boiling water 2 pkg yeast pinch of sugar 3/4 cup warm water unbleached white flour, enough to make a solid dough (probably 4-6 cups)

Combine the oats, whole wheat flour, honey, butter and salt in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over it. Stir. Allow to cool until lukewarm.

Combine the yeaast, sugar and warm water. Proof the yeast in a warm oven. Stir into the (cooled) oats mixture.

Add enough white flour to make a solid dough. The dough will be sticky because of the honey. Knead for 10 minutes, incorporating flour as needed. Let rise in a bowl for one hour or more. Punch down; let rise again for about 45 minutes. Divide into four loaves. Place in greased and floured loaf pans. Let rise to top of pan (or higher). Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Turn out and enjoy a piece warm.

>From Laura Marks:

Wheat Berry Honey Bread (4 loaves)

3/4 cup wheat berrys 1 cup water 1 cup honey 2 cups milk 4 tbl butter 1 tbl salt 4 eggs 3 pkgs yeast 1 cup wheat germ 5 cups whole wheat flour 4-5 cups unbleached white flour

Combine the wheat berries and water in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Let sit for 1 hour.

Scald the milk and add honey, butter and salt. Cool to lukewarm.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and wheat berries (cooled). Add yeast. Stir in wheat germ. Stir in whole wheat flour.

Knead in the white flour. Add enough flour to have a firm dough. It will be sticky because of the honey. Let rise about 1 hour. Punch down and divide into four pieces. Place in greased and floured loaf pans. Let rise about 45 minutes until dough reaches top of pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Turn off oven and let cook another five minutes. Turn out and enjoy a piece warm.

Note this bread falls apart if used for meat sandwiches.

>From Sandy Kisner. Source unknown (pg 61)

Wheat-Berry Bread

1/2 cup wheat berries 1 cup boiling water 1 cup cold water 2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F) 2 tbl dry yeast (2 pkgs) 1/4 cup honey 1 tbl salt 1/4 cup oil (1 cup oats optional) 8 cups whole wheat flour 2-4 cups unbleached white flour

Place the wheat berries with the boiling water in a saucepan and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Add the cold water and trasfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the warm water and check the temperature (it should be lukewarm). Add the yeast and all of the other ingredients except the white flour.

Mix the dough thoroughly with a wooden spoon, then add half of th ewhite flour and befin to knead. Keep adding flour until the dough is easy to handle and will keep its shape. Knead for 7-8 minutes.

Put the dough in a greased bowl and turn it greased side up. Cover it and put it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, knead it briefly to break up any large bubbles and cut it in half. Make two round loaves and put them on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with corn meal. (Alternatively use 3 greased loaf pans.) Use a sharp knife to cut a cross in the center of each loaf.

Put the pan in a cold oven and turn on the heat to 350 degrees (or use a preheated oven). Bake for about 1 hour or until the bread is brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

For an extra-crisp crust, brush the loaves with cold water several times during baking.

Cool on racks.

>From Sandy Kisner. Source, NYTimes, date unknown

Challeh, 3 loaves

4 cups hot water (or substitute 1 cup of yogurt or milk) 1/2 tsp tumeric (or saffron if you're feeling rich) 2 tbl yeast 2 tbl salt 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup wheatgerm (optional) 1/2-1 cup dried milk powder 2-4 eggs beaten (extra yolks or whites are welcome) 1/2 cup oil About 8-10 cups unbleached white flour, enough to make a soft, unsticky dough

Dissolve the tumeric or saffron in the hot water along with the yeast and salt. Add the rest of the ingredients in order, working in as much flour as possible while the dough is still in the bowl (this saves a lot of counter cleanup afterwards). Oil the counter, turn out the dough and knead it for 5-8 minutes until it feels smooth and springy and the surface blisters.

Form the dough int a ball, place it in an oiled bowl or pot, oil the top of th edough lightly and cover it with a cloth or plastic wrap. When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down, turn it out on the counter an divide it into thirds (each of these will eventually be one loaf of bread or pan of rolls). You can bake Challeh in a traditional rectangular bread pan if desired.

Now the fun begins. Take one of these pieces of dough and divide it into four even parts. Roll three of them into ropes about the length of your bread pans.

Braid these ropes together in this way: attach the ropes at one end by pinching them firmly together; cross the rope on the right over the rope in the center; cross the rope on the left over the rope in the center; repeat until you run our of rope and then pinch the ends together.

You now have completed the big braid for the bottom of the challeh and will now make the thin braid as follows: divide the fourth part of the dough, which has been waiting patiently for you to get around to it, into three parts and braid these just as you did the big braid. Place this thin braid on top of the big one, right down the middle lengthwise, so the braids are going in the same direction. Pinch the ends to secure the braids together and place in a well-oiled bread pan. Brush the top well with an egg yolk beaten with a tsp or two of water (which is sufficient to glaze all three loaves of challeh) and then sprinkle generously with either sesame or poppy seeds.

This method of braiding (which my grandmother would have called cheating since it doesn't braid together eight ropes) is easy once you get the knack, which you can develop by practicing with string. It produces breads that are high and beautiful to look at witht he texture characteristic of challeh. Don't ask me why, but a braided loaf of challeh tastes different than a regularly shapped one.

With the other two sections of dough waiting to be formed, you can either repeat the above process, in which case you will have three challehs (they freeze very well), or you can do a number of variations. The simplest and one of the best is to knead about a cup of raisens into one of the sections and then braid it as above, paint it with eggyolk and sprinkle it with seeds. This is a classic raisin challeh and guarenteed to disappear very quickly.

When you have prepared all your loaves, let them rise until light and high, place them in the oven, set it at 350 degrees and bake them for about an hour. Take the baked loaves from the oven, let them sit for about 10 minutes and then remove them from their pans to let them cool on racks (the oven racks are fine so long as you leave the oven door open)

Whole Wheat Bread

The following recipe is basically from _The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_. This book contains about 200 recipes that all use *only* whole wheat flour. None of the recipes use white flour. At first I believed this would make a brick; but I found that it makes a bread that's very chewy and, while not particularly light, very good.

I believe the key is to knead the dough *alot*. tLKBB claims that if you make two loaves you'll have to knead the bread twice as long!

This recipe is based on the main recipe in tLKBB, but it includes some modifications that I used.

1/4 cup - 6 tbl warm water 1 pkg yeast (tLKBB says 1 tsp) 2 tsp sugar 3 cups whole wheat flour, finely ground 1 tsp salt 1 cup milk, scaled and cooled (or 1/3 cup cold yogurt mixed with 2/3 cup hot tap water per tLKBB) 2 tbl oil 1 & 1/2 tbl honey

Use hot tap water to warm up a small bowl. Place the warm water and sugar in the warmed bowl and mix them. Slowly pour the yeast over the water making sure to get all of the yeast mixed in. Set it aside to proof.

Scald the milk and add the honey. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm.

Place about 2 & 1/2 cups of flour in a bowl and mix in the salt. I sifted the flour. Make a well in the center. Pour in the milk and yeast mixtures. Start mixing the dry and wet ingredients; start by stiring the mixture in the center and gradually widen the spiral and incorporate the flour in the bowl. Slowly add the last 1/2 cup of flour until you get a stiff dough that and you can't add any more flour. You should use most of the flour.

You may wish to knead the dough still in the bowl a bit to get the kneading started. I often do this to get the dough well mixed together.

tLKBB suggests using water instead of flour while kneading the dough. I did this and it worked well. The kneading changes the dough from a sticky mess to a firm dough that's barely sticky. You can use either flour or water to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

Place a small bowl of warm water next to your kneading board or counter. Wet your hand and rub it over your kneading board until there's a light film of water on the surface. Also rub water over your hands until they are slightly wet.

Place the dough on the counter. In one hand hold a metal spatula that you will use to collect the dough while it's still very sticky. With your free hand, press out the dough in the typically kneading manner. With the spatula, scrape the dough up from the counter and recreate one pile of dough. This is a slightly strange method of kneading, but you'll get the hang of it very quickly. Once the dough starts to get firm you won't need the spatula and you'll be able to knead with both hands.

tLKBB states that you should knead a single loaf of bread for 300 kneading strokes. If you are making two loaves you will need (knead) 600 strokes. I found that I used about 350 strokes. About every 50 strokes put a bit more water on your kneading board and your hands (and take a brief rest). When kneading by hand it's almost impossible to overknead and you really want this dough well kneaded or it will be heavy.

Per tLKBB, "When the dough is fully developed, it will pull into a paperthin sheet, smooth and bright. When you hold it to the light, you can see the webbing of the gluten strands in the sheet". In particular you should be able to stretch a fairly small piece into a sheet that's about 4" in diameter and is so thin that it resembles paper or fabric. You should be able to do this with only an occassional tear; if you have trouble doing this or the dough keeps tearing knead it some more! You will see flecks of the whole wheat bran in between white sections of dough. Apparently if your wheat is ground extremely fine you will see a dough with a beige color and may not see many flakes of bran.

Remember, it's almost impossible to overknead the dough if you are working it by hand. Knead it until you are sure it's fully kneaded!

tLKBB says that you should not grease the bowl that you use for rising the dough. Wash your original bowl and place the dough into it. Cover it and set it someplace out of drafts to rise. tLKBB suggests placing it on a towl that is over a heating pad. Let the bread rise until about double in bulk.

Punch the dough down and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then shape it into one loaf of bread. Let it rise a second time until it is spongy. When you press it with your fingers the indentation should fill slowly. If the bread rises too much at this step (e.g. if the dent from touching it doesn't fill slowly) it won't rise again in the oven (aka "oven spring"). If the loaf has risen over the top of your pan you can slash it down the top to allow it to rise even more in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. If the bread if fairly brown after 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

tLKBB describes each of these steps in incredible detail. If you're really interested in whole wheat breads read a copy of the first chapters of this book.

The following recipe is from a company cookbook put out by the Stone-Buhr Milling Company of Seattle, Wash., called 'Cooking With Gourmet Grains'.

SWISS OATMEAL BREAD The Swiss cheese gives this bread a unique taste. It's good toasted or in toasted cheese sandwiches!

1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup firmly packed brown 2 pkgs active dry or cake yeast sugar 2 cups uncooked regular rolled oats 2 tsp salt 1 cup grated Swiss cheese 3 Tbs butter or margarine 4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Scald milk. Stir in brown sugar, salt and margarine. Cool to lukewarm. Measure warm water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle or crumble in yeast, stir until dissolved. Stir in lukewarm milk mixture, rolled oats, Swiss cheese, and half the flour. Beat until thoroughly blended. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Note that you will not be able to stretch the dough too thin because of the oatmeal, but you can stretch it fairly thin with a minimum of breaking. Do not underknead!

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, let rise in warm place free from drafts, until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board. Divide dough in half and shape into loaves. Place into two greased 9 x 5 loaf pans. Cover, let rise in warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 deg. F. about 35 minutes or until done. (Or maybe a slightly lower temperature). Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

Sources

Beard on Bread. James Beard. 0-345-29550-1 $3.95 paperback. Ballantine. 1973. In print.

Sourdough Cookery. Rita Davenport. 0-553-11371-2. 1977. Bantam (probably out of print, but apparently has been reprinted as a HP or a Sunset book).

The Complete Book of Breads. Bernard Clayton, Jr. 1973. Simon & Schuster. 0-671-21548-5. This edition is out of print, but "The New Complete Book of Breads" is in print in hardback for about $28. I ordered it in Oct 1991 and was told that it was "indefinitely out of stock at the publishers". However I was able to order it from Jessica Biscuit's Cookbook Store. The intro says it has 200 recipes from the original book and 100 new recipes (which are marked). Furthermore all recipes have been updated to include methods for mixing by hand, with an electric mixer and with a food processor. (I believe the updated version of this book is in print and readily available as of March 1993).

English Bread and Yeast Cookery. Elizabeth David. Viking Press, 1980. Elizabeth David apparently wrote several books during WWII and the 1950's. David's books discuss food preperation and storage in general and are full of anecdotes. They are fun to read. Her recipes tend to give approximate amounts and general directions and are somewhat similar to the Tassajara cookbooks (although they have a few more details than some of the Tassajara recipes). _EB&YC_ is less anecdotal and is a general bread reference book. The first half of the book includes long descriptions of all of the ingredients and procedures for making bread. The second half contains a number of recipes. Most of the ingredients listed are English, although she mentions a few products available in the US.

_The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ by Laurel Robertson with Carol Flinders and Bronwen Godfrey. $19.95 hardback; also avail paperback. copyright 1984. Contains many recipes that use only whole wheat flour. If you favor chewey whole wheat breads, this is the book for you.