You probably just looked at the title of this post and said, “What….she doesnt do ‘real’ food”.
Well surprise surprise my dears. This Thanksgiving I decided I’d dip my cold feet into the waters of “real cooking”. Baking is a form of cooking, but its dessert, and sadly you can not live off dessert…or can you…
I’ve always been intimidated by bread, specifically because of the yeast. You have to put it in a special temperature water, you have to wait for it to bloom, yada yada. I feel like cooking shows have given off this impression that making bread is so time consuming and difficult, but its not! It’s not at all!
I may start making my own bread every week. Probably not, but its so delicious and so simple that I really should. The recipe I used called for some spices that I didn’t have, and am not a huge fan of. Yeah, I’m talking about Dill. Not a fan of Mr. Dill. I used fresh thyme from the garden instead. When substituting fresh herbs in place of dried, you have to use more fresh herbs to make up for it.
Now seriously, go and make some bread. Your house/apt/hut will smell amazing.
Adapted from Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups of flour
- 3 tbs sugar
- 2 packages (1/4 oz each) quick rise yeast
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 3/4 tsp dill (I substituted in thyme)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
- 3/4 cup 2% milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbs butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and seasonings. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, and cubed butter to 120-130 degrees F, then add to the dry ingredients. Beat until just moistened.
- Add egg, beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes
- Divide dough into thirds. Shape each into a 15 inch rope. Place the ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid.Pinch ends together to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
- Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. (Keep an eye on it as it approaches 20 minutes)
- Brush with melted butter, then let it cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
Madeline
I'm Madeline. I love cooking, but specifically baking. Sugar is the way to my heart. I bake something new every week so I can come here and share with you!
