Mennonite Girls Can Cook (29 page)
Read Mennonite Girls Can Cook Online
Authors: Lovella Schellenberg,Anneliese Friesen,Judy Wiebe,Betty Reimer,Bev Klassen,Charlotte Penner,Ellen Bayles,Julie Klassen,Kathy McLellan,Marg Bartel
(White Bread)
...............................................Yields 4 medium loaves
- 4 cups / 1 L warm water
- ½ cup / 125 ml instant mashed potato flakes
cup / 75 ml sugar- 1½ tablespoon / 20 ml salt
- ¼ cup / 60 ml oil
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml instant yeast*
- 9-10 cups / 2-2 1/2 L flour
Tip:
Instant yeast is formulated specifically for bread mixers and machines, but can be substituted in any bread recipe. The yeast does not need to be dissolved in water. Mix it together with the flour and add to the liquids.
- Combine water, potato flakes, sugar, salt and oil in mixing bowl.
- Mix yeast with half the flour; add to liquids and beat well.
- Add enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead very well, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Cover and let rise until double in size.
- Divide into 4 equal parts. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Cover with a tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size.
- Bake at 350° F / 175° C for about 35 minutes.
- Remove from pans to wire racks for cooling.
Tip:
Flour measurements are only a guideline when mixing yeast dough and will vary with each batch.
—
Judy
White bread was the bread of my ancestors, and it was the bread I ate while growing up. My mom baked all our bread, several times each week, with no help from bread machines or mixers. In the early years there was only a wood stove, which made it difficult to maintain the right temperature for baking.
The loaves of my memory were not one bit dainty! They overflowed the bread pans, but we enjoyed the huge slices of airy bread with a crispy crust. Though there is nothing like coming home to the aroma of freshly baked bread, I was at times envious of my classmates with their sandwiches made from soft, white slices of store-bought bread, a luxury we rarely had in our home. It turns out I wasn’t missing much!
The best treat on bread-baking day was the “fried bread,” which we would enjoy at suppertime. Long strips of dough were dropped into hot fat and then dipped in sugar. There was nothing healthy about it but we enjoyed this treat.
Many decades have passed and though I often bake bread, it is rarely white bread these days. Now we know that the health benefits of white bread are not the greatest, and the coarse “peasant bread” with all the whole grains is a much healthier choice. Every once in a while I like to bake the bread of my childhood. My dad still prefers white bread, and so I try to keep some on hand for his visits. White bread is more than a distant memory at my home.
Judy says
........................................... Yields 3 loaves
- 2 cups / 500 ml buttermilk
- 1 cup / 250 ml lukewarm water
- ¼ cup / 60 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml salt
- cup / 75 ml honey
- 4 cups / 1000 ml all-purpose flour
- 2 cups / 500 ml whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml instant yeast
- 1 cup / 250 ml ground flaxseed
- 1 cup / 250 ml oat bran
- 1 cup / 250 ml sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml water
- 1 egg
- Heat buttermilk in microwave oven until lukewarm, approximately 90 seconds on high.
- Combine all liquids in a large bowl. Add salt and honey.
- Combine 2 cups / 500 ml of the white flour with the whole wheat flour, yeast, flaxseed, oat bran, and sunflower seeds. Add to liquids and mix well.
- Add remaining flour and knead well.
- Cover and let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into thirds. Shape each piece into a ball or oval. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets and flatten slightly.
- Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Beat together egg and water. Brush top of each loaf with the egg mixture.
- Using a very sharp knife, score each loaf diagonally 3 times.
- Bake at 375° F / 190° C for 30 minutes.
—
Judy
........................................... Yields 4 loaves
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml instant yeast
- 7 cups / 1.5 L freshly ground whole wheat
- 5 cups / 1.25 L white flour
- 3 teaspoons / 15 ml salt
- 1 cup / 250 ml seven-grain flour mix
- 5 cups / 1.25 L warm water
- ½ cup / 125 ml canola oil
- ½ cup / 125 ml molasses or honey
- 2 eggs
- In mixing bowl blend half of the flours with instant yeast; add salt.
- Add 4 cups / 1 L water and mix for 5 minute on lowest setting.
- Add oil, molasses or honey, eggs, and 1 cup / 250 ml water.
- Add remaining flour, kneading for several minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until the dough pulls away from the mixing bowl.
- Continue to mix at a higher setting for about 10 minutes.
- Prepare 4 bread pans. Divide the dough and form it to the size of your pans. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise 30 minutes.
- Bake at 375° F / 190° C for about 40 minutes.
- Remove loaves from pans to cool on wire racks.
—
Marg
My Mom always made fresh white and brown bread. This is her recipe, which we have enjoyed for years. I have added 1 cup / 250 ml seven-grain wheat for a crunchy texture. It’s a very basic, simple, and yet nutritious recipe. I like that it only needs to rise once. It takes under 2 hours to make this bread from start to finish.
My mom had to work in the field and in the barn. I admire her for her efforts to have available fresh bread and jam for a quick snack at any given time. Early in the morning, you could always find her in the kitchen beginning her meal preparations for the day. She loved to bake and cook for her family.
Marg says
............................................. Yields 1 loaf
- ½ cup / 125 ml warm water
- 1 teaspoon / 10 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon / 5 g unflavored gelatin
- 1½ tablespoon / 20 ml active dry yeast
- ¼ teaspoon / 2 g salt
- 1 teaspoon / 6 g xanthan gum
- ¼ cup / 33 g white bean flour
- ¼ cup / 33 g white corn flour
- ½ cup / 75 g potato starch
- 1½ tablespoon / 15 g millet flour
- 1 rounded tablespoon / 8 g ground flaxseed
- 1 rounded tablespoon / 8 g ground, raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- ½ cup / 125 ml warm milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon oil / 5 ml
- Mix the sugar and gelatin in a cup; add ½ cup / 125 ml warm water and stir. Stir in the yeast. Set cup in warm water. Let proof until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, measure and blend thoroughly the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Put warm milk, egg, and oil in bowl of mixer.
- Add proofed yeast and mix lightly.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix lightly until blended, then beat on highest speed for 5 minutes until batter is light and very fluffy.
- Scrape into a greased mid-size loaf pan. The loaf pan will be about half full. Smooth the top with a moist hand.
- Cover with plastic wrap, and set on top of stove under the range light. Watch carefully because it rises quickly.
- While it is rising, preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C. Fill a large skillet with water and bring to a boil.
- When dough has risen to round the top of the pan, remove the plastic wrap. Place a wire rack over the edge of the skillet to provide a steam bath. Set the bread pan on top of the rack. Cover with a bowl large enough to cover the pan, such as a large metal mixing bowl, which will allow steam to surround the risen loaf. Steam for about 7 minutes. The bread will rise considerably more.
- After steaming, place loaf immediately in preheated oven and bake for 55 minutes. Do not under bake.
- Cool bread on a wire rack until you can touch the pan, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove bread from pan. If you disturb it too soon, the bread will fall.
Tip:
For more good flavor, try this flour combination: substitutecup / 50 g sorghum flour for the corn and millet flour.
The amount of warmth that the stovetop and range light offers is perfect for the dough to rest in this recipe. It is a very delicate balance of warmth that creates the best rise.
Tip:
White bean flour is hard to find but you can grind your own from the small white beans that you find in a grocery store. Commercially bought white bean flour, for some reason, smells and tastes very “beany” more so than your own ground flour. It is the bean flour that imitates the wheat flavor and the ground sunflower seeds aid in the toast quality of this bread.
Use a flour mill or coffee grinder to make bean flour. Grind/sift/grind until there is no gritty feeling when you rub the flour between your fingers.
Keep ground bean flour in the fridge.
—
Julie
The food I missed the most after going gluten free was bread! The rice bread I was offered was not much different than trying to enjoy cardboard. I determined that there must be a way to make something that resembled real bread, something that had the texture, crumb, smell and taste of wheat bread. I experimented with flours and methods, and this is the closest I have come to wheat bread. It is fluffy and soft and smells delicious when baking. Following the recipe exactly is important.
Julie says
