Post by Darlene on Aug 7, 2011 8:40:58 GMT -5
This is a bread that I used to make long ago on a pretty regular basis, but I made it by hand with no mechanical assistance. How lame is that? So these days I'm getting a little help from the bread machine. It's not a "dump everything into the bread machine pan" conversion, however. There is a little prep involved. Enjoy!
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast (NOT rapid rise or bread machine yeast)
4 cups flour
In a small saucepan, put the water, sugar, butter and salt. Heat on the stove until the butter is mostly melted (don't overheat it, or it will kill the yeast). Remove from heat and stir the yeast into it (I use a small wire whisk). Let sit for 15 minutes. It will bubble up and have a foamy appearance.
Meanwhile, measure out the flour and set aside.
After 15 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into your bread machine pan. Dump the flour on top of that. Run your machine on the dough cycle. (Note here that if your machine's dough cycle does not include a first rise, you'll need to let your dough sit in the pan for about 45 minutes until it doubles in size).
Punch the dough down and remove from the pan. Shape into a ball and place in a greased 12 inch cast iron skillet (if you don't have cast iron, you can put into a greased dutch oven, the bread will just have a different shape). Cover with a clean dish towel and place in an area away from drafts for 45 minutes to an hour, until the dough doubles in size.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes until it is deep golden brown in color. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack. If desired, using a paper towel, put a thin coat of butter on it to give the crust a glossy appearance.