Happy New Year!

My New Year's Eve was actually a lot of fun. Sometimes, I feel that there is a lot of pressure to find a great party, a truly romantic night, an evening that will stand out from the other 364 evenings of the year, which can lead to a lot of disappointment. This year, my friends and I attended Lobster Boy's New Year's Revue at the Warehouse Theater. It was a wild night of vaudeville and burlesque acts. The Warehouse Theater and Cafe is reall a second home to my housemates and I. We know most of the people who work there and Molly and Paul Rupert have always been so nice to us.

Before the evening started, however, I spent the day in the kitchen, determined to master breadmaking. In the past, I had joked with my friends that I killed yeast with my bare hands, which was pretty much true since I had never made any bread that wasn't small, hard and inedible. This year, my boyfriend's parents got me The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger for Christmas. I decided that I would start out with the easiest recipe, White Mountain Bread:

3/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 package active dry yeast
1 pinch sugar
1 1/2 cups warm milk (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
3 tbs melted butter
3 tbs honey
1 tbs salt
6-6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

To get things just right, I turned to the food-geek methods of Alton Brown, using my instant-read thermometer to precisely measure temperature. To start, I heated the water in the microwave. The book suggests using bottled water, which considering the taste and content of DC tapwater, I thought was a good suggestion. I then mixed 1/4 cup of the warm water with the yeast and sprinkled it with sugar. I then whisked the mixture and let it stand at room temperature while I assembled the other ingredients.


Next, mixed together the rest of the water, milk, honey, salt and 1 cup of the flour. I beat this mixture well for about 3 minutes and then stirred in the yeast mixture. After that, I started incorporating the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. I eventually had to switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon. Once the mixture creates a soft dough that pulls easily from the side of the bowl, I dumped it out onto a floured countertop and started to knead the dough for 4 to 7 minutes until it was smooth a springy to the touch. Next, I set the dough into an oiled bowl, turned it over, covered it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and set it in a warm dark place to rise. (In my house, the best place in is in the downstairs half bath.)

After 1 to 1 1/2 hours, when the dough has doubled in size, I took it out. (Another way that I could tell the dough was ready was that when I pushed a finger into it, the indentation stayed in the dough.) I deflated the dough gently and cut it into 2 pieces.


I formed these pieces into loaf shapes by flattening the dough out into a rectangle, folding the two longer sides into the middle and rolling the folded dough. After rolling, I pinched the edges closed and placed the loaves into oiled bread pans.


I covered these pans with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and allowed the dough to rise once more for about 45 minutes until the loaves had doubled in size. Next, I slashed the top of each loaf, placed them into a preheated 375 degree oven and baked them for 45 minutes. To my surprise, when I tapped on the sides of the loaves, they did produce hollow sounds.

I allowed the bread to cool on a rack. After a few hours, I cut into it and was surprised by how good it tasted.


Overall, it was a pretty easy recipe. It was definitely time consuming and you really do have to pay attention to the amounts and procedures. (Unlike my usual method of cooking where I throw everything together and estimate amounts until it tastes right.) But the end result was a very nice sandwich bread that tasted great with butter and jam.

UPDATE: I tried the recipe again a couple of days later and had not so good results. The difference? I substituted bread flour for all-purpose and I just didn't really take as much time as I needed to. (I think I also forgot to add salt.) The result was an ok bread, it did not rise as beautifully as my first loaves nor did it have as good a flavor. I am not discouraged, however, and will definitely try again soon. I might actually take a look at Alton Brown's baking book to get some pointers. His recipes are ok but he's great for technique.