So here are some other things we've been up to besides growing a baby!
This recipe is from thehungrymouse.com- it makes two loaves!
2 Cups warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons butter (softened)
5 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon salt
The first step is activating the yeast (www.thehungrymouse.com might explain it better than I do). Warm your water and gently whisk in the yeast and sugar. Wait 10-15 minutes and it should be bubbly and growing- looking like a yeast monster. If this doesn't happen, it means either your yeast is bad or your water was too hot/ too cold. This (below) is what it should look like!
This step saves a lot of heart ache because most recipes call for you to add the yeast mixture right away instead of waiting to watch the reaction. Just yesterday when I was baking a loaf of bread my water was too hot and it killed the yeast- I only wasted a cup of water and a tablespoon of yeast INSTEAD of wasting several cups of flour and so-on.Add the flour and salt to the yeast monster, as well as the softened butter and roll out on a floured surface and knead. (below)
(by the way I made this with wheat flour, that's why it looks a little funny) After kneading it, let it rise in a buttered dish for about one hour...
These are the before (top) and after (bottom) pictures of the dough rising- it actually rose much more than this but when I took the plastic wrap off the bread it caused it to deflate.
Remember this recipe makes two loaves- so cut the dough into two and let it rise a second time in the loaf pans another hour....As you can see, I'm not great at shaping my loaf bread just yet- but luckily it doesn't effect the taste :-)
Into the oven after the second rise...
Bake it at 350 F for 35-40 minutes and it's chow time!
This recipe makes a yummy crusty bread- great for sopping up gravy.~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a wonderful biscuit recipe- I've tweaked it from it's original and have taken the methods from both Martha Stewart and thehungrymouse.com (you MUST visit that website)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups flour
1 package of yeast (which is roughly 1 Tablespoon)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 1/2 t. salt
1 egg
As explained before, activate the yeast in the warm water and wait 10-15 minutes for the yeast monster to form.
Next, add milk, honey and butter to the yeast monster. Then slowly mix in your flour and salt- turn it out onto floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. When it is smooth and elastic-y put it in a buttered dish covered with plastic wrap and let it rise until it's doubled in size (can take up to 45 minutes).
Punch down the dough and then roll it into an even rope and cut it into 12-16 even pieces.
This method of shaping rolls I learned from Martha. Flatten the sections like this and then pick up the edges and press them in the center. Turn it over and palm the dough and shape it into a circle (don't roll it like you would roll a ball of play-dough.... just press down and make a circular action, keeping the bottom of the roll touching the counter.)
I like to shape them a little oblong... place them on a greased baking pan....
And then I brush them with melted butter so they don't dry out during the second rise.For the second rise, I spray the plastic wrap with non-stick spray and then cover the rolls- wait around 30-40 minutes and they should be very plump. Be careful pulling off the plastic wrap- any thing too rough can cause the dough to deflate.
Bake them at 400 F for 10-12 minutes. Brushing the rolls with egg gives them a nice flavor and color- and you can also sprinkle some sesame seeds or onion soup mix to add some umph.
And viola! Biscuits perfect for gravy, jam, or dipping in your vegetable soup.
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