Are you afraid to bake bread? Or think you don't have time? Despite rumors to the contrary, bread is really quite easy to make - and it's so much better than store-bought or even bread-machine-made bread.
Bread making is fun, too (and a great project to do with the kids, who'll love sinking their hands into the dough in order to knead it). And what can compare to a house filled with the marvelous scent of freshly baked bread?
In fact, the only downside to making bread at home is that it's so yummy it will disappear rapidly. Here's a really easy, delicious recipe to try:
What you need:
a small cereal bowl
a saucepan
a dishtowel
a big mixing bowl
a large mixing spoon
a cookie sheet
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
How to do it:
In a saucepan, mix 1 cup flour with 1 ½ cups water. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will get lumpy and stick to the pan, but keep cooking and stirring; it will smooth out.
Once the mixture is smooth, remove it from the stove and add 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, salt, milk, oil, egg, and 1 cup flour. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Add 2 ½ cups flour. Mix well.
Leave the dough in the pan, covering it with a clean dish towel and placing it in a reasonably warm, non-drafty place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Cover the dough again and let it sit for 15 minutes. Knead a few strokes, then cut into two equal parts. Cover and allow it to sit another 15 minutes. Shape each piece into a rounded rectangle. Place each rectangle onto a greased cookie sheet, cover with towel, and let rise
until about double. Bake at 375 º for 30 to 35 minutes and enjoy!
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