A Loaf a Day: Day Seven, Amish Friendship Bread

I wanted the final day to be a special bread. One of the fun parts of having a blog are the friends you make through following and comments. Although I have not had this blog long I still think of each reader as a friend. So pull out the ingredients, make up a batch and share it will all your friends and be sure to think of me when you have a slice!

Blessings,
Margaret

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk

Directions
1.In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

2.On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.

3.Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).


Editor's Note Once you have made the starter, you will consider it Day One, and thus ignore step 1 in this recipe and proceed with step 2. You can also freeze this starter in 1 cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.

A Loaf a Day: Day 6 Bread Machine Pizza Dough

At our house we love our pizza! I use to spend $20-$25 every Friday night for 4 mediocre one topping pizza at the local pizza shop until one week I decided to make mine own. I was tired of never knowing for sure if was going to be good and we wanted more than just cheese and pepperoni. Now I wouldn't think of buying pizza. We get to use fresh ingredients and pile on what ever we want!

This pizza dough couldn't be easier to prepare. Just combine the ingredients in a bread machine and process as directed. The recipe makes enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas. Be sure to use fresh yeast

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (105° to 115°F)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. active dry yeast

Directions:
In the bread pan of an electric bread machine, combine (in this order) the warm water, olive oil, salt, flour and yeast. Set the machine for Pizza Dough according to the manufacturer's instructions and process through the cycle.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Form each half into a ball and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Roll out as directed in the pizza recipe.
Makes two 12-inch rounds.

If you have a little more time this is another great pizza recipe!

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:
For the pizza dough:
1 Tbs. (1 package) active dry yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. lukewarm water (105°F)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup for
working
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
For the topping:
7 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped,
or canned plum tomatoes, drained and
chopped
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
To make the pizza dough, in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and let stand until slightly foamy on top, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 3/4 cups flour and the salt and form into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture to the well. Using a fork and stirring in a circular motion, gradually pull the flour into the yeast mixture. Continue stirring until a dough forms.

Lightly flour a work surface with some of the 1/2 cup flour and transfer the dough to it. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

Brush a large bowl with the olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat an oven to 450°F. If using a baking stone or tiles, place in the oven now.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with the remaining flour. Punch the dough down and, using your hand, begin to press it out gently into the desired shape. (If you want to make individual pizzas, divide the dough into four equal-size pieces and shape each one.) Place one hand in the center of the dough and, with the other hand, pull, lift and stretch the dough, gradually working your way all around the edge, until it is the desired thickness, about 1/4 inch thick for a crusty pizza base and 1/2 inch thick for a softer one. Flip the dough over from time to time as you work with it. (Or roll out the dough with a rolling pin.) The dough should be slightly thinner in the middle than at the edge. Lift the edge of the pizza to form a slight rim.

Transfer the dough to a pizza peel or baking sheet, cover with a cotton towel and let rise again until almost doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Cover the dough with the cheese and then the tomatoes. Scatter the basil over the top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 3 Tbs. of the olive oil over the top. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and bake until the crust is golden, about 10 minutes more. Drizzle the remaining 1 Tbs. oil over the top and serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series

A Loaf a Day: Day Five, Amish White Bread

This bread is extremely easy and delicious. This can be made in a bread machine by simply putting the ingredients in and choosing the bread cycle or which ever cycle you use for regular bread. Enjoy!

Amish White Bread

Ingredients
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

Directions
1.In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

2.Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

3.Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

A Loaf a Day: Day Four White Bread

I am sorry I did not get one up yeasterday but I spent the day sewing and in the later evening we were having a bandwith war. The boys play online games and last night they got an expansion that come up and HAD to load it and try it out. Since the expansion is only yearly I yielded.

This bread recipe is what we use for sliced bread. It is tasty and can be made with wheat flour also or a combination of wheat and white.

Moms Basic Bread
BY Crystal Miller
Makes 3 loaves

3 cups warm water
2T yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
3 t. salt
9 cups flour

Let rise once for 1 hour. Punch down and shape into 3 loaves. Place in 3 greased loaf pans and let rise about 30 to 40 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes.

I will give the ‘by hand’ instructions first and then follow with any changes that need to be made if you are using a mixer.

First in a large bowl put your 3 cups of warm water. Without having to get the thermometer out to make sure your water is just the right temperature I will tell you how I gauge it. I get the water so that is a warmer than baby’s bath water. You want it to be a tad more than comfortably warm on your wrist. If your kitchen is cool then you can warm up you measuring cup first and even your bowl by running them under warm water to get them warm enough so when you put your water in there it does not cool the temp down. O.K. now you have your warm water in your bowl. Sprinkle your yeast and sugar in the bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It should get foamy and bubbly. If it does not then your yeast is not working. You can try again or get some new yeast. Old yeast sitting in a cupboard will eventually not work (that is open packages of yeast, sealed ones should be fine). After it has bubbled it is now time to add your oil and salt and begin to add your flour. At first you can mix with a large wooden spoon but soon as you add flour it will get much too thick for that. As soon as it can not be mixed with a spoon, dump it all out on a clean counter that has been dusted with flour. Keep adding flour and mixing and then kneading the dough. Kneading is the process that develops the gluten in the bread. You knead your dough by pushing the heels of your palms into the dough and then grabbing your dough and folding or pulling it forward and pushing with your hand again. You can rotate the position of your dough and continue the process. You will need to do this for about 12 to 15 minutes. If you do not your bread will not rise and be light and delicious. After your bread has been kneaded it is time to let it rise. Put a dishtowel over it and let sit for about 1 hour. After your hour is up you punch the down and knead it some more to get all the air bubbles out. Now it is time to cut the dough into 3 pieces and shape them into loaves. I don’t do anything really fancy for this. I simply roll and shape and make it look like a loaf. Kind of like playing with play dough :). Then put your dough in a greased loaf pan (I spray with non-stick cooking spray) and do this for the next 2 loaves. Then it needs to rise once again. This time you let it rise for 30 to 40 minutes. When the bread is almost done rising you can pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes.


Now if you have a mixer the process is a little easier. If you have a Kitchen Aid type mixer then you can proceed as stated above only using the dough hook for the mixer and letting the mixer do the kneading for you. You will need to let the machine knead the dough for about 7 to 10 minutes. I like to just leave the dough in the mixer and when the rise time is over then simply turn it back on to punch the dough down and continue on as above.

If you have a high powered mixer like a Bosch then the process gets easier. Simply put all ingredients in the bowl (start with about 7 cups of flour an add flour as needed until the dough cleans off the sides of the mixer). Knead on the setting 1 or 2 for 5 to 7 minutes and that is it. You can take the dough out and proceed to form loaves and let them rise and then bake. The reason is that the Bosch incorporates a lot of air into the mixing process and the additional rise time is not needed.

A Loaf a Day: Day Three, Batarde/ French Bread

If you have not noticed in the other two pictures you probably have in this one, I do not worry too much about the shape of my bread. I use to fuss over it and even now do on occasion but for the most part I form it and let it do what it will. With the French bread I think it lends to the rustic taste not to be smooth and perfect anyways.

This recipe comes from a book I cannot recommend highly enough, it is called America's Best Bread Machine Baking Recipes. It is by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. I have tried almost all the recipes in it and have NEVER been disappointed!

Batarde/ French Bread
makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs granulated sugar
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast

1. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacture. Insert pan into oven chamber and select DOUGH CYCLE. I put the ingredients into my Bosh mixer and knead with the dough hook until the dough is mixed well and tacky but not sticky and wet. Usually for about 6min on 2.

2. Remove dough to a lightly floured surface; cover with a large bowl and let rest 10 - 15 minutes

3. Form dough into a 14" loaf, tapering both ends. Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or with cooking spray; cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30-45 minutes or until double in size.

4. Bake at 425F for 20-25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

A Loaf a Day: Intro

Some of the best things are truly the simplest things. In my family as long as we have fresh homemade bread all is right with the world. No matter how tight money gets or how plentiful it gets I make sure I have all the ingredients for at least some simple French bread. I remember when we had some extra money and things were busy grabbing some bread at the store; my kids actually complained. My daughter calls store bought bread a bleached sponge. Of course their demand for my bread always makes my head swell!

I have heard so many people complain that it is too hard, they can not find a good recipe or it takes too long and that simply doesn't have to be the case. Nor do you have to have fancy equipment. I used a bread machine from a second hand store for a long time. I threw all the ingredients in, let it do all the work on the dough cycle, I then shaped it, put it in a regular bread pan and baked it. I now have a Bosh mixer that I would be lost without but it is not necessary.

To help those of you out there who may want to make their first loaf or are just looking for some new recipes I thought for the next week or so I would post a new recipe everyday along with some photos and any tips that I have found.

Please do not worry about equipment or ingredients, most of these will use regular ingredients and the tools commonly found in most kitchens. Please feel free to leave questions and comments as we go along and I will do my best to answer them. Also feel free to share your bread recipes too.

First recipe and pictures to follow later this evening.

Oh, I almost forgot I will be sharing some recipes also that are made specifically for bread machines.

God Knows My NEEDS

I am sorry I have avoided this blog and my other one lately. We have just had so much going on here at home I have not had the time or energy to put together much.

My husband like myself is self-employed and with the economy lately that has had more downs than ups. In November he went 6 weeks without work and then for the last 4 he has not had any work.

We have gone round and round about what to do and tried to have faith that God was in control, and He is, but it still has been tough! We finally made the decision he would look for regular work with a company. He has had a few interviews all promising to let him know something in the coming weeks but nothing definite.

I am thankful that I am home to help ease some of the stress this is causing. I am able to be here for my husband and our boys and try to keep things normal. One of the things that has been a great source of comfort has been a Bible study we are doing at church. It is a series by Jim Berg called Quieting the noisy soul. This series started a few months before things got bad and I am so thankful for all the ground work that was laid before this happened.

The emphasis so far has been on the attributes of God and his love for me and desire to meet my needs. In the past when Scott would go without work I would get scared, fret and blame God. I was sure he punishing me or Scott for something and although He had never failed us I just knew each time this would be the one. Of course He always saw us through and God is doing it again this time. He is always God, He never changes...even when I do and He is always doing something good for me.

We do praise God that my website, e-bay store and Etsy have generated many sales over the last few months, when normally after Christmas things die down for me until summer.

We found at Wednesday that Scott has a 4-6 week job that starts Monday and for that we are very thankful but of course when that ends we have no idea when he will have work again. I do know however that God will be with us and He knows our needs and will meet them; our genuine NEEDS not our wants.


But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV

Be Back Soon

Simple Bracelet

This is just the cutest bracelet! It is simple but something really stands out about it to me! I also love the way the artist photographed it!

If you are interested in it you can find it one Etsy in Flower Bed Heads shop.

Etsy is really one of my favorite places to shop and not just because I have a shop there! You can find so many unique gifts and you are supporting an artist not just a massive chain store.

Where do you go to find unique gifts?