Beard on Bread (18 page)

Preheat the oven to 375°, place the bread in the center of the lowest rack, and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom with the knuckles. Return the loaves, without the tins, to the oven rack to bake for about 5 minutes and acquire a firmer crust. Remove the loaves to a rack and cool.

If you should want a very soft top crust, brush the loaves with melted butter when you bring them out of the oven.

This was a raisin bread that my mother made very often, modeled on one she had admired at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. During World War I she used to do benefit teas for the British Red Cross, and there were always requests for this bread, thinly sliced and spread with good sweet butter. It was arranged on large platters, and there was never any of it left.

[2 loaves]

Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup of the warm milk and proof it. Combine the rest of the warm milk, sugar, salt, and 3 tablespoons butter in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, then, using one hand or a heavy wooden spoon, gradually stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out on a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth, elastic, and glossy. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and set in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2½ hours.

Punch the dough down and knead for 3 minutes. Return to the bowl and let rise again for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each out into a rectangle about 7 × 20 inches. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the raisin mixture. Roll the dough up tightly;
tuck the ends under. Fit each roll, seam side down, in two well-buttered 8 × 4 × 2-inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm spot till the dough shows just above the top of the pans. Brush with the egg yolk-and-cream wash and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom. If necessary, return the loaves to the oven rack without their pans to brown the bottom crusts.

This can be baked in two loaves with a mixture of raisins and nuts in both or with raisins in one loaf and nuts in the other. It is a good, all-purpose bread, which is enhanced by the extra sweetness of the honey
and raisins. It toasts well; it is delicious cut thin, buttered well, and served with tea or coffee; it makes interesting sweet sandwiches when filled with chopped nuts and fruits, chopped figs, or even chopped olives and nuts; and it is also very good with marmalades of various kinds.

[2 loaves]

Dissolve the yeast in the water with honey and allow to proof. Warm the butter in the milk, and add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the flour, mixed with the salt, 1 cup at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. When the dough becomes rather stiff and difficult to stir, turn out on a floured board. Knead, adding small quantities of flour, until the dough is soft, velvety, and elastic. (It should spring back when pressed with the fingers and blister easily.) Shape the dough into a ball, place in a buttered bowl, and roll around to coat with butter on all sides. Cover tightly and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down. Turn out on a floured board and let rest for 5 minutes, then knead in the raisins and chopped nuts.

(If you are making one raisin loaf and one nut loaf, divide the dough into two equal pieces, and knead in the extra ingredients separately.) When the nuts and raisins are thoroughly amalgamated in the dough, cut it in half and shape into two loaves. Place in two well-buttered 9 × 5 × 3-inch bread pans, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, or until the dough comes up above the tops of the pans.

Bake in a preheated 400° oven 25 to 35 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom with the knuckles. Remove from the tins and allow to bake on the rack in the oven for several minutes more to add color and texture to the crust. (For a tender crust brush the loaves with melted butter just as you bring them out of the oven.) Allow them to cool on racks before slicing.

1. It is better if the raisins have soaked in a little warm water or some Cognac for an hour or so. I sometimes add a tiny bit of cinnamon or nutmeg, too, because I like these flavors with the raisins.

2. These loaves freeze well, and will keep in plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days.

This bread, which I used to eat very often as a child, is a rich, flavorful, extremely pleasant loaf that keeps well and toasts magnificently. It is perfect cut very thin and spread with sweet butter and cheese, and it’s a good base for sweet sandwiches like those filled with cream cheese and nuts.

[1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves]

Heat the milk and stir in the 3 tablespoons sugar, the salt, and the 6 tablespoons butter. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and add to the milk mixture. Stir in 3 cups sifted flour and beat until thoroughly smooth. Gradually add another 3 cups, or enough flour to make a smooth, kneadable dough. Turn the dough out on a board and knead until thoroughly blended and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes. (If you use an electric mixer with a dough hook, knead about 5 to 6 minutes.) Put the dough in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a cloth, and set it in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a board again, and knead in the ½ cup sugar, the ½ cup butter, softened, and the currants, drained and lightly floured. Form the dough into two small loaves or one long loaf and put into two buttered 8-inch pans or one 10-inch pan. Brush with melted butter and let rise in a warm place until they have increased about 60 percent. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 50 minutes, or until the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when rapped top and bottom with the knuckles. Cool thoroughly on racks before slicing.

The addition of toasted pine nuts and a few raisins gives this loaf its distinction, both in texture and in flavor.

[1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves]

Combine the yeast and the sugar in ½ cup of the warm water, and let proof. Combine with the flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the remaining cup warm water, the milk, and the honey. Blend well, adding additional all-purpose flour if the dough seems too sticky and soft to knead. Finally add the melted butter. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes. Place the dough in a large buttered bowl and turn to coat with butter on all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk.