Homemade White Bread

Okay... I did it!  I've committed myself to making our own bread.  No more grocery store bread.  This wasn't on my goals list from last Thursday's post, but I've personally committed to adding this on there.  And I'm excited.  Because I actually made a fantastic loaf of bread.  And yes, I'm still excited.

Now that I got that off my chest... how was everyone's weekend?  Ours was pretty laid back, just ringing in the New Year with some good friends and some great food.  It's amazing that the older I get, the more I want peace and quiet for big days like New Year's Eve.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love a rip-roaring good party, but not as much as I did say, 3 years ago.  I just don't have it in me anymore.  My life revolves around other things now, and it just always amazes me how true that is.  I've grown up.  And it makes me sad.  But it makes me happy at the same time, because well... I'm growing up.  Does that make sense?

Oh, by the way, Pear-Caramel Ice Cream won the poll by a landslide on Friday so look forward to that sometime either this week or next. (I can't really be definite on when because I've got a few night shifts this week, so the week will be hectic - but I've got a 3 day weekend, so I'm sure there will be plenty of time then!)

Anyway, I was just so excited that I made this loaf of bread that I had to share it with you guys!

Ingredients:

Adapted from Pass the Sushi's Recipe

1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 & 1/2 cups lukewarm water
5 & 1/2 cups flour

In a small saucepan, heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter under low heat.  Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and butter has melted.  Take off heat and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast with warm water.  Add milk mix­ture and 4 & 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix with wooden spoon until a sticky dough starts to form.

Add remain­ing flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a ball of dough starts to form, and it is less sticky.  On a floured work surface,  knead the dough for about 2 min­utes longer, or until dough is smooth and elas­tic.

Grease a large, clean bowl with olive oil and add dough, turn­ing to grease top.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a slightly damp towel and let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until dou­bled in size.

Punch dough down and divide in half. On a lightly floured sur­face, roll each half into a rec­tan­gle approx­i­mately 9″ x 14″. A rolling pin will smooth the dough and remove any gas bub­bles.  Starting at the shorter end, roll the dough and pinch to seal the seam.  Place the dough seems sides down, in a greased bread loaf pan.  You could do this with both halves if you want, but I used my other dough half to make clover dinner rolls - just roll the dough into 36 even balls and place 3 at a time in a greased muffin tray.  Cover and let rise again for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 F.


Bake bread for about 25-30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and crisp on the outside.  Remove from pans immediately after taking out of oven and let cool on a wire rack. 

We enjoyed the rolls with our turkey dinner (yes, I decided that I wanted to experience cooking a turkey this weekend, so I roasted one on a lazy Sunday afternoon - details to come!)  But this bread would definitely be great just on it's own with a pat of butter or jam.  Enjoy guys!


Have you ever made your own bread? 

Sunday Morning Burger

No, this isn't meant to be eaten for breakfast... however, it wouldn't be a bad idea. I just think this whole concept of a burger came out of pure adaptation for what was available in my fridge. And seriously... every time I top something with an egg (whether poached or fried), it's been absolutely delicious. This is no exception... I highly recommend you try this... like, now.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork
1 Granny Smith apple, grated
1 onion, grated
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon ground sage
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg/burger patty
cheese (I used slices of Velveeta)
Kaiser rolls
margarine or softened butter
1 teaspoon olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, apple, onion, bread crumbs, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. Form into 4 good sized patties. You can probably make 8 thinner patties if you wanted to, but I'm a fan of a big juicy burger.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat a large oven proof skillet under medium heat and add olive oil. Brown the patties on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. You don't want to cook them all the way through, just get a nice crust on the outside.

Place skillet in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, you can fry your eggs. I did mine one at a time and I like them over-easy. You can cook them up any way you wish, but make sure you have a nice oozy (but still done) yolk!

Open Kaiser rolls and butter both sides. Place in oven for about 5 minutes to toast.

To assemble burger, place patty on bottom bun, top with egg, then cheese and cover with top bun. In my opinion, this doesn't need any condiment. The oozing egg is just what it needs and the burger is one of the juiciest burgers I've ever eaten.

This was absolutely wonderful. This to me, is like a sausage, egg, and cheese muffin to the extreme. McDonald's has nothing on this. This. Is. Great. Try it now! Enjoy!