One of the followers of this blog requested that I do a post on bread making. I have to say that I do make my own bread but not everyday like many homesteaders do . I average making about 2 loaves of bread a week. That's about all the bread we eat anymore if that. Sometimes I make a 2 loaf batch and make 2 french bread loaves like above and a sandwich loaf. I like to slice the french bread loaves thin and freeze them for garlic bread rounds. Nothing is more convenient with a pot of spaghetti than to pull out frozen bread rounds and add butter and garlic and put in the oven on a cookie sheet to brown.
Other times I will make a two loaf recipe and make half the dough into rolls for dinner that night and the other half into a sandwich loaf for the next day. I have made many different kinds of bread through the years but the most versatile bread recipe I have found of late is Suzanne McMinn's Grandmother Bread. A romance author turned farmer/blogger she shares an old family recipe...
this bread recipe made all of the bread you see pictured above. Just water, yeast, sugar, salt and flour. Just a good basic starter bread dough. In my humble opinion if you want to learn to make bread that is the place to start. Just pop on over to theChickens In The Road Blogand check out all her recipes for Grandmother Bread. She even has a tutorial on making grandmother bread and gives both a one loaf and two loaf recipe. The great thing about a good bread recipe is versatility. For instance you can take this same recipe and with the addition of just a few different ingredients you can make cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, or rolls.
Now my husband's favorite rolls are these Honey Bran rolls from Charlotte over atMennonite Girls Can Cook Blog. With the addition of whole wheat flour and bran and honey these make an exceptional roll. These don't last long at my house. Warning they are addictive!
Honey bran buns are such a nice light and fluffy textured bun, and a good source of fiber, sweet with a light bran flavor.
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup bran cereal, buds, flakes or natural bran
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of oil
- 6 cups of flour (may use half whole wheat)
- 2 eggs, fork beaten
- 1 tbsp. dry instant yeast (added to the flour)
- 1 tsp. salt
- combine bran, honey, boiling water oil and salt.
- cool til luke warm.
- add 3 cups flour with the yeast and eggs, stir well to mix.
- add remaining flour gradually as you are kneading to make a soft dough but not too sticky. You may need to add a little more flour as needed.
- knead about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease all the dough
- cover with a tea towel and put into your oven with the oven light on, for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Punch dough down and shape into buns. I usually get about 3 dozen from this recipe.
- Let them rise on the cookie sheet for another 30-40 minutes.
- Bake at 375 for about 15-18 minutes, depends on your oven and how brown you like them.
- Serve with any of the wonderful soups and stews on our side bar .
- Enjoy!
And again with the versatility I take this recipe for Cinnamon rolls below that belonged to my husband's grandmother and by just cutting the sugar in half I can make a pan of dinner rolls for dinner and a pan of cinnamon rolls for the next morning with the same dough. When you roll the dough out to make cinnamon rolls you brush with melted butter and sprinkle sugar over the dough, just add a little extra sugar at this step for the cinnamon rolls. You'll never know the difference.
Grandma Betty's Cinnamon Rolls
1 pkg. yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup butter melted
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
4 1/2 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water to proof
Add milk, melted butter, sugar, salt, eggs to yeast mixture and stirwell.
Gradually add flour to mixture to form soft dough.
Put in oiled bowl and let rise till double in size.
Punch down and roll out 1/2 inch thick into oblong rectangular shape.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with white sugar and cinnamon to taste.
Roll dough lengthwise and cut into 3/4 inch sections. Place dough pinwheels into 2 greased 13 X 9 baking dishes. Place pinwheels touching each other
Let Rise until doubled in size.
Bake at preheated 350 degrees oven for 15 to 20 minutes
Frost with powdered sugar and milk glaze.
This makes a large batch and I split the dough into two sections and roll out separately.
Raisins can be added.Can also be baked in one large metal baking sheet.
Since this has turned into a rather lengthy post I'll do a different post on actually making the dough tomorrow. Anyone out there that hase some good bread recipes please feel free to add to this.
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