I used this recipe and what I did will follow.
Family Bread
- 4 C warm tap water (not hot)
- 2/3 C non-fat dry milk powder or 1/4 C honey
- 2 packets or 4 tsp dry yeast
- 1 TBS salt
- 1/3 C melted margarine or oil
- 12 C (approximately) white or whole wheat flour or a combination
Mix water, dry milk, and sugar in bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow mixture to sit until the yeast dissolves some. Add salt, margarine/oil, and flour. Mix with wooden spoon until too stiff, then mix with your hands until dough is pulled away from sides of bowl and sticks together well. Turn out onto floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed.
Coat a large bowl with oil, put in the bread dough and spread a little oil on top. Cover with clean towel or plastic wrap, set in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in size.
Punch down dough, divide the dough into 4 equal lumps. Shape into loaves and place into well oiled bread pans. Cover with clean towel and let rise again.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes and bread sounds hollow when thumped.
Ok.. first of all, you really want to add your yeast, and I used 5 tsp because I did use a mixture of whole wheat and white flours, add your yeast to about 1/2 to 1 C warm water to dissolve the yeast. I probably added 2 TBS salt, too. THEN stir and add the rest of the water, powdered milk, salt, oil (I use melted butter). I add two cups of flour at a time and stir between additions. I had heard about adding vitamin C to bread dough to make it stay fresher longer, so I crushed a vitamin C tablet and added that in there, too. I used about half white flour and half whole wheat and I also only put in 10 cups of flour instead of the 12. The dough was really gooey, but I stuck by it and did it.
After I divided the dough into four equal parts, I put two loaves into bread pans, covered and set aside. The third section of dough I spread out some and added a store bought bottle of Italian seasoning and kneaded. I added more and kneaded again, not for 10 minutes though, just enough to mix the herbs with the dough. Then I put that into a loaf pan, too.
The FOURTH section of dough I rolled out with a rolling pin into about a 1/2 inch thick rectangle to make cinnamon rolls. Spread butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon. THIS time I really laid the cinnamon on thick. Then add a bunch of brown sugar. Spread it all around until is pretty evenly spread all over. Roll up length wise and cut into 12 portions. Place into well greased 8 x 11 (whatever the size those are), cover and let rise.
I don't know if the vitamin C did anything or if it was using less flour, but I'll do both again. A friend of mine bought some Vital Gluten and adds it to her bread dough, it has vitamin C in it, too, and her bread turns out just delicious.
The bread I made like this was great. Soft, light, the herbed bread turned out wonderful, too, as did the cinnamon rolls! YAYAYAYAYAAYAYAY I was one happy granny doing the happy granny dance!!
