Bread Winner

Since Jared and I got married, we have made bread a few times. Homemade is delicious, and in the long run it saves you money, especially since the grocery store we have to shop at is a little pricey. The first couple batches were just meh, alright I guess. But then I found this amazing recipe on allrecipes.com that I tweaked a little, and holy cow it turned out perfectly! They were possibly the most beautiful loaves I've laid eyes on (at least that came from my kitchen anyway) and it tasted just as good. So here's that recipe:

Honey Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 2-1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3-3/4 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2-2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon and butter, melted

Directions

1.      In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/4 cup honey. Add the white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

2.      Mix in 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour, or enough so that it doesn’t stick to the bowl too much. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 1 to 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3.      Punch down, and divide into 2 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

4.      Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

There's also another bread recipe that I used for Sunday Dinner with Cousins tonight. It's more of a special occasion artisan bread, but is so easy to make. Everyone at dinner was asking for the recipe. Just keep in mind that you need to start it the night before.

No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.