Other Survival Skills
Mar. 12th, 2020 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouse The other thing I plan to do is bake my way through the coronavirus.
Image: brown bread in a traditional loaf pan. Looks are deceiving, however, this bread is NOT wholesome or healthy, it is 99.9% BUTTER.
One of the things we bought a lot of when we were apocalypse shopping was flour (and butter, as it happens,) and so I decided I should try to hone/improve my "family loaf" skills. I feel more than confident with my ability to make a show stopping French loaf, but I have often been stymied by basic sandwich bread.
Because we have five-thousand vintage cookbooks around the house, I pulled out a Pillsbury bread bake-off one from 1968 and started looking for basic/fun breads to try. This one was called Herb Butter Bread, I think. But, it's basically a regular milk-based bread loaf recipe but halfway through the process, you slather on an herb butter (mine had basil, garlic cloves, and a hint of cayenne), roll it up like a cinnamon loaf, and then let it do its second rising in the pan. This thing has so much butter (and Crisco) in it that it's insanely flaky and delicious. Plus, there is NO NEED for extra butter.
It would be amazing for sandwiches if only because it's already so flavorful, you could just top it with a slice of cheese and go.
The nice thing about it is that a person could put whatever spices they wanted into the butter mixture. So, if you wanted something less garlicky you could substitute in onions or caraway or whatever your favorite flavors are. The dough isn't super sweet, so you could probably even make it into a desert bread, if you wanted.
It makes two loaves.
BUTTERFLAKE HERB LOAF
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons salt (which I would consider reducing or maybe sub in unsalted butter?)
1 packet (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups of milk (I divided this, and put 1/4 warm water in with the yeast to get it percolating)
1/3 cup of shortening
2 eggs
Herb butter:
1/2 cup of butter
spices (I used basil, cayenne pepper, and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.)
OVEN 350 degrees (F)
In large mixer bowl, combing 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast (I added the 1/4 cup of warm water at this point). In saucepan, heat milk and shortening until milk is warm. (Shortening does not need to melt.) Add eggs and warm milk to the flour mixture. Blend at lowest speed until moistened (and/or us a dough hook on a mixer). By hand, stir in remaining flour to form a smooth ball. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes. (I used my dough hook so only really needed to shape it at this point.)
Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. (More butter! Yum!)
Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down dough. Divide dough in half. Roll out one portion of dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread on half of the Herb Butter. Roll up towards you, shape into a loaf. Seal ends and place, seam-side down, in greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let dough rise until it reaches the top of the pan and corners are filled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. (I brushed my top with a bit of olive oil.)
Image: brown bread in a traditional loaf pan. Looks are deceiving, however, this bread is NOT wholesome or healthy, it is 99.9% BUTTER.
One of the things we bought a lot of when we were apocalypse shopping was flour (and butter, as it happens,) and so I decided I should try to hone/improve my "family loaf" skills. I feel more than confident with my ability to make a show stopping French loaf, but I have often been stymied by basic sandwich bread.
Because we have five-thousand vintage cookbooks around the house, I pulled out a Pillsbury bread bake-off one from 1968 and started looking for basic/fun breads to try. This one was called Herb Butter Bread, I think. But, it's basically a regular milk-based bread loaf recipe but halfway through the process, you slather on an herb butter (mine had basil, garlic cloves, and a hint of cayenne), roll it up like a cinnamon loaf, and then let it do its second rising in the pan. This thing has so much butter (and Crisco) in it that it's insanely flaky and delicious. Plus, there is NO NEED for extra butter.
It would be amazing for sandwiches if only because it's already so flavorful, you could just top it with a slice of cheese and go.
The nice thing about it is that a person could put whatever spices they wanted into the butter mixture. So, if you wanted something less garlicky you could substitute in onions or caraway or whatever your favorite flavors are. The dough isn't super sweet, so you could probably even make it into a desert bread, if you wanted.
It makes two loaves.
BUTTERFLAKE HERB LOAF
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons salt (which I would consider reducing or maybe sub in unsalted butter?)
1 packet (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups of milk (I divided this, and put 1/4 warm water in with the yeast to get it percolating)
1/3 cup of shortening
2 eggs
Herb butter:
1/2 cup of butter
spices (I used basil, cayenne pepper, and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.)
OVEN 350 degrees (F)
In large mixer bowl, combing 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast (I added the 1/4 cup of warm water at this point). In saucepan, heat milk and shortening until milk is warm. (Shortening does not need to melt.) Add eggs and warm milk to the flour mixture. Blend at lowest speed until moistened (and/or us a dough hook on a mixer). By hand, stir in remaining flour to form a smooth ball. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes. (I used my dough hook so only really needed to shape it at this point.)
Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. (More butter! Yum!)
Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down dough. Divide dough in half. Roll out one portion of dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread on half of the Herb Butter. Roll up towards you, shape into a loaf. Seal ends and place, seam-side down, in greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let dough rise until it reaches the top of the pan and corners are filled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. (I brushed my top with a bit of olive oil.)
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 05:02 pm (UTC)K.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 09:42 pm (UTC)So, yeah, I think anyone can do it? But read the book. It will change bread making for you forever.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-13 12:20 am (UTC)Perhaps I should watch a youtube video on biscuit-making. I know at least two people who make excellent biscuits but don't have as much chance at a teaching opportunity as I would like.
K.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 06:59 pm (UTC)I also plan to bake (and garden) my way through the apocalypse.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-12 09:43 pm (UTC)