Baking Bread every week. The whole family loves the bread, and I feel very accomplished for making it. Not to mention the kneading does wonders for the arms!
Over the years, I have tried many recipes and found them so time consuming! I was all set to make a cinnamon raisin dough recipe that I found online, when I looked at the back of my yeast, Voila! There it was - the easiest bread dough recipes I have ever seen. Here it is and scroll down for the variations:
PS - you do not need a mixer for this recipe. It would probably take longer to put the mixer together than just knead it by hand.
Hovis Hand Baking Bread
Also to be found at http://www.hovisflour.com/
1lb 2oz white bread flour (I use the self-rising)
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar (optional) (gives added flavor and thicker crust)
1 1/2 tsp fast acting yeast
1 oz butter
10 fl oz warm water
combine the flour, salt, optional sugar. Rub in the butter. (That means kind of mush it up with your fingers until it's part of the mixture.) Stir in the yeast.
Stir in the water and mix into a soft dough by hand.
Knead for about 5 minutes with a mixer with a dough hook, or turn out onto a floured surface and knead well by hand for about 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into a loaf and place in a well-greased 2lb loaf pan or a baking tray. Turn the dough over one time. (this will leave the top slightly greased so that it won't dry out)
Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm place until doubled in size. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Uncover and bake at 450 F for 30-35 minutes. I start checking the bread after about 15 minutes so it doesn't get too dark.
The baked loaf should sound hollow when tapped underneath.
Take the loaf out of the pan and cool on a rack.
Variations:
Raisin Bread: add a handful of raisins at the end of the kneading. Make sure they are well mixed. Try to poke back any of the raisins that might be sticking out on top of the loaf. At such a high cooking temp, they have a tendency to burn a little.
Olive Rosemary: add a handful of chopped olives and about a tsp of chopped fresh rosemary at the end of kneading. brush with olive oil before baking.
I looked in Nigella Lawson: no sandwich bread, and no reference to flour brand names. Maybe it's in the instructional parts of the book, so I'll look later. I wonder where I saw it?
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