Food Friday: Milk and Honey Bread

Bread.  It has kind of a bad reputation.  It's high in carbs and therefore is bad for us.  But it tastes so good!  Especially warm from the oven, slathered with butter and raw, local honey.  Or apple butter.  Or jam.  Or just butter.  Or just plain with nothing on it. 

I stayed up late last night baking two loaves of this particular bread, and impatiently waiting for it to cool enough that I could slice it without burning my fingers.  I don't have any photos of it being made because it's really hard to take pictures when you are up to your elbows in flour.  I will post a photo of a finished loaf, though, so you can be tempted by it too. 



This one deflated slightly, they don't normally do that. 

Milk and Honey Bread. 

What you need:

pinch of sugar

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

2-1/2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt (I only use 1 teaspoon because I think 2 is too much)

8 to 8-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 

What you do:

 

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with the pinch of sugar for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. Add your honey, butter, salt and 5 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough--it may not take all 8 cups.  The two loaves I made last night only took about 7 cups.  It depends on the humidity and altitude and the type of flour you use.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place it in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.  (I don't really have a warm place in my house when it's cold outside, so I put my dough in a glass bowl and set it on top of a heating pad turned on low.) 

Once your dough has doubled in size, uncover it and punch it down.  Divide it in half and shape it into two loaves. Place the loaves in greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans, then cover them and let your dough rise until doubled again, about 30 minutes. (Again, I place the pans on the warm heating pad.)

Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  If necessary, you can cover the pans loosely with foil if you notice the top of your bread is browning too quickly. Remove from the pans and cool your yummy bread completely on wire racks.   

 

Next week, I will teach you how to make home made apple butter to put on your yummy warm bread.
 

 Bread recipe slightly adapted from Taste of Home. 

Food Friday: Crackers

I wasn't joking when I threatened to teach you how to make crackers.  They are easy and fairly tasty.  And I don't know anyone who doesn't like crackers.  These can be fancy-schmancy crackers or just nice plain crackers, it's pretty much up to you. 

Crackers

What you need:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup warm water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For brushing on the dough: 1/2 cup water with 1 teaspoon kosher salt stirred into it
For topping: coarse salt, black pepper, and seeds: poppy, sesame, caraway, celery, flax, pumpkin, whatever you like

What you do:

You can do this all by hand and the crackers come out the same, but it's easier in a stand mixer.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, wisk your flour and salt then stir in the water and olive oil.  Turn your mixer on medium speed and mix the dough for about 5 minutes until it forms a nice looking ball.  The dough will look kind of questionable for a while, but will come together into a nice, smooth ball. 

Now, remove your dough hook and shape your dough into a ball, put it back into its bowl, and coat it lightly with olive oil and cover it amusingly with a shower cap or less amusingly with plastic wrap and then just walk away and let it rest for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

When you come back, pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Grab a rimmed baking sheet that is approximately 12x17, flip it upside down, and heavily flour the bottom of it.  Divide your dough in half, and put one half on the floured baking sheet and roll it out until it almost completely covers the pan.  It will be thin!  Go ahead and trim off anything that hangs over the edge and brush off any extra flour. 

Now, get your salt water and brush the dough with it, then prick the dough all over with a fork, then sprinkle on whatever toppings you want, or just leave them plain. 

After sprinkling on your toppings, grab a pizza cutter or a sharp knife and score the dough into cracker shapes the size of your choice.  Don't worry about cutting the dough all the way through, the crackers will break apart just fine once they are baked.  If your dough bunches while you are scoring it, just pull it back out straight, no big deal. 

Now, put the baking sheet in the oven and bake the crackers for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges.  Remove the crackers to a cooling rack and they will get crispy. 

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.  You can either use a second baking sheet, or re-use the first one, just make sure it is cooled completely before you do. 

Once the crackers are all cooled, break them apart and store them in an airtight container and feel all smug because not only do you make your own cheese, you make your own crackers, too.  :)