I attended an online homesteading conference in the fall. It was quite an experience. There were seminars on everything from how to bake the perfect bread to maximizing garden spaces, how to live off the grid, and wait for it…. making clothes from cow hides. I learned a lot about what I’d like to incorporate into our lives to be more sustainable while being realistic about it. You won’t be seeing me making or wearing any cow hide clothing. Nope, not ever! Well okay, I wear shoes, but I’m not making them.
I really enjoyed one of the speakers from Common Sense Homesteading and her approach to making sensible choices to improve your life, and being more self-reliant. The Portland area has been blanketed in snow recently and her post on 10 Things You Need To Prepare When The Power Grid Fails would be helpful to anyone, especially those without power during winter storms or natural disasters.
We’ve been a little housebound with the snow and ice that has hit our area lately – couldn’t convince hubby to strip wallpaper or any of those other household maintenance jobs that we saved for this time of year, so we’ve been watching a lot of TV and reading to pass the time.
In one series from England set back in the 40’s, there is always a large loaf of bread on the kitchen table. Every once in a while someone slices the bread and slathers it with fresh butter. Eeek gads, each time we watch an episode I think to myself – I’ve got to bake some bread, that looks soooo good.
Proofing the yeast is an important step and if your yeast isn’t fresh it can ruin your bread. What I’ve found that works well is to use warm water, drop the yeast into it and add a tablespoon of sugar. Mix it up and place it in a warm (or draft-free) place to proof for about 5 minutes. If you don’t get a nice foam or some action, start over.
Today I’m sharing Laurie Neverman’s bread recipe with you.
Yes, I did want to travel to England to do this in a country house to recreate the scene (Gill, your home would be perfect!). Even though I’m making it in Oregon, it was still so much fun to bake, permeating the house with the aroma of fresh yeast bread.
Some breads I’ve made taste great but are difficult to slice. This bread slices nicely. It makes a great sandwich bread, is hardy in density, without being “heavy”.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Makes 2 regular sized loaves, or 1 regular loaf and 4 smaller loaves, or 24 rolls
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet works)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups bread flour
Instructions
- Add the yeast to the warm water with a tablespoon of the sugar and allow it dissolve and proof.
- Place all ingredients except flour in a mixer or large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. (You may need to adjust
- the amount of flour based on humidity conditions.)
- For those using a mixer – when bread has reached desired stiffness, mix for 6-8 minutes, until ingredients are well mixed and gluten has had a chance to develop.
- If mixing by hand, when dough is stiff enough, dump onto a well-floured counter and knead for 5-10 minutes.
- Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. Punch down dough, let rise until double in size.
- Divide dough into desired number of buns or loaves and shape accordingly. Place dough onto well-greased pans.
- Remember, the bread will rise again and double in size, so small buns will get much larger.
- When making hamburger buns, make them about 2 inches across, and then flatten them slightly before letting them rise.
- Cover with a clean dish cloth and place in a warm location until it doubles in size.
- Bake buns around 15 minutes at 350F, until lightly browned. Bake bread at 350F for around 25-30 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack before slicing.
Nutrition
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