Well, on day ten (see the earlier post, and also this one) I had no choice: I had to find the time to make some bread soon. I decided to try the default recipe, even though it was not much like the bread I make. One should try new things. The good news was that it is quick and easy to do, and so I did not need to set aside a huge amount of time. So after a bit of prepping:
…it was popped into the oven. Recipe (“remaining batter” is about 1.5 cups of the yeast starter left over from the doings on day ten… see earlier post) for this “Amish Friendship Bread”:
Ingredients
To remaining batter in bowl add and mix well1 Cup Oil
1 CupSugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
3 Eggs
1 large package instant Vanilla Pudding
½ Cup Milk
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Teaspoon SaltDirections
Pour into 2 large greased and sugared (mix a little cinnamon and sugar) loaf pans. You can sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mix all inside the pan and save a little for the top. Bake at 350º for 50-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove bread from pans. Makes two loaves.
(I had to modify in two places. First and foremost I left out the instant vanilla pudding. Sorry. I just don’t see why I would add some pre-cooked ready-made thing to something and call it my cooking anymore. [It reminds me of a friend of mine from a while back who would buy pumpkin pie mix in a can, buy a ready made pie crust, pour the former from the can into the latter and pop it into the oven. In her view, she’d made a pie. She was young, so I forgave her. Sorry, but that is not making a pie… Ok, rant over.] Perhaps I am missing the point of what this mysterious pudding is, but I left it out. Second, I replaced half the oil it called for with melted butter. I don’t think I had the right kind of oil in the right quantity.) An hour and 15 minutes later, this was the result:
As you can see, the carbon dioxide producing properties of the yeast we discussed in the last two posts did the trick on the raising, with a lovely bubble-filled texture. I realized while making it that this was more of a sweet recipe than I’d anticipated, so I would not be using it for sandwiches or anything. Tasted a bit strange to me (but not unpleasant) on exit, but I am happy to say that once it matured, the day after and the two after that it was quite a delicious breakfast bread. Then it was all gone.
-cvj
Not that big a deal. In fact, you might not have shared the excellent recipes here otherwise, and so everybody reading wins!!
Thanks!
-cvj
Thanks for setting the record straight–next time I comment I’ll be sure to read more carefully. I didn’t mean to cast aspersions on your bread-making past 😉
Sounds like you’ve got your formula down. Enjoy!
Thanks for the links and thoughts.
One note: As I’ve said at a number of points above and in the related posts, I’ve been making bread for decades, so I am not new to it, just this particular recipe. I tend to use dried yeast, have a rising period for the dough, and I *always* use whole wheat flour.
cheers!
-cvj
Glad to see you got a “taste” of one my favorite past times: bread baking (even if the recipe above seems to be more of a bread-cake!)
Here are two favorite recipes, one of which requires yeast and one of which doesn’t.
Irish Brown Soda Bread (no yeast, but uses baking soda instead). Super easy, delicious and nutty. It’s a little bit sweet depending on the amount of brown sugar you put in, but the other good healthy stuff: wheat germ, wheat bran, oats, etc. offset that a bit. The buttermilk is the key ingredient. It’s great for breakfast. I make it for brunch and it’s always a big hit. Here’s a link to the recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Brown-Soda-Bread-1916
A favorite yeast bread that requires very minimal ingredients and effort is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ref=dining
I usually mix half whole wheat flour in, just for nutrition’s sake, and find that it’s even more delicious. The texture on this bread is light and springy–really wonderful. The best part though is watching the dough bubble. Great fun and a beautiful texture when it’s done.
And here’s a link to a great article on working with yeast breads for anyone still reading at this point 😉
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html
The (intended) presence of instant pudding doesn’t sound very Amish either!
Intriguing recipe though – you don’t leave it to rise even once, and it contains baking soda. Cinnamon buns hot from the oven are the best breakfast! Well, one of my favourites at least, there’s no “best” when it comes to food. 🙂
I agree with you. I would not call it bread either. But the Amish have been around longer than me, so I defer to their terminology.
-cvj
Much too sweet and too rich, by my lights: looks more like a yeast cake than real bread. Two days ago I made an amazing loaf with 2 oz. nonfat dry milk, 11 oz. flour (plus what I sprinkled on the board), a cup and quarter of water, yeast, salt. Yum! Browned up fantastically, on’counta all the milk.
Yum!