Bread Baking

Bread. It's the most basic, simple food. Just the barest of ingredients makes a nourishing food. I think every culture in the world must have some sort of bread item unique to them, whether it's a baguette, pita, tortilla, or naan. Bread is a universal thing. And man, do I love a good slice of bread.


I can't stand sliced "sandwich" bread. The only time I'll make an exception is for dainty finger sandwiches at a party, and they'd better have the crusts cut off. Otherwise, you can keep that long loaf in a plastic bag from the bread aisle. No one in my family likes it, either. I probably bought my last loaf of that stuff a year or so ago. Since then, I had been buying bread from grocery store bakeries, loaves they rise, bake, and slice on-site for you. This type of bread, whether it was sourdough, French, wheat, or seeded rye, was infinitely more interesting than sandwich bread, but also cost more. But it was worth it. Then, the artisan bread began approaching $3.50 per loaf. For flour, yeast, salt, and water as the main ingredients, that was too much.


I started hunting for a bread machine. I'd make my own. I found a machine from HSN by Wolfgang Puck. It makes a real, horizontal loaf, not some stubby "vertical" loaf as most bread machines do. The recipes that came with it worked great as they were written by Puck's pastry chef at Spago. I was off and baking. I even rearranged some of my cabinets in order to create a "bread center" with all my ingredients in one convenient cabinet.

If you've read my blog for long or known me IRL, you probably know that I really enjoy watching Ina Garten on Food Network. Her shows are always inspiring to me. In fact, her show "Barefoot Contessa" is the only one I record so I don't miss an episode! Ina says she usually doesn't' take time to bake homemade bread, but that readers and viewers have contacted her saying there are no decent bakeries of any sort in their area, and did she have a recipe for "good bread." (good is often a descriptor in Ina's lists of ingredients, such as good olive oil, good mayonnaise, or good bread). So she came up with one called Honey White Bread, and it's in her "Barefoot Contessa At Home" cookbook. I finally got around to trying her recipe, and once again, she amazes me at how foolproof her recipes are! She tests them over and over again, and I now trust any of Ina's recipes to come out looking just like the photo and tasting fabulous. I can't say that for some Food Network hosts like Paula Dean or Rachael Ray.


So below is my version of Ina's Honey White Bread recipe. I add vital wheat gluten to it, because it does give great results . This recipe makes 2 loaves, so I only use the Dough cycle on my machine, then divide the dough into 2 loaf pans and bake in the oven. I want to experiment with the ratios a bit to include some whole wheat flour, and will let you know what I discover. Oh, I also use bread flour (higher gluten) in the recipe, whereas Ina's original recipe calls for all purpose flour. I also want to cut the recipe in half and seeing if I can do it all in my machine, so I never have to touch it! But it's not so easy to just halve a recipe; it often takes a little tinkering. I'll let you know when I get that nailed down, too. The crust is not thick on this bread, nor is the inside namby-pamby. It's the perfect bread to slice for sandwiches or toast.



Honey White Bread
based upon Ina Garten's recipe Yield: 2 loaves

½ cup warm water
2 packets dry yeast (4½ tsp)
1 tsp. sugar
1½ cups warm milk (110ºF)
6 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1½ Tbsp. honey
2 extra-large egg yolks
5½ cups bread flour
1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 egg white or olive oil, to brush loaf tops before baking

Place all ingredients in bread machine, set to Dough setting. When dough is made, divide into 2 equal loaves, and place into 2 greased loaf pans. Cover with clean dish towel, and allow to rise in warm place about 45 min, such as stove top while oven warms up. Brush tops of loaves w/ beaten egg white or olive oil to make a pretty crust. Bake at 350ºF w/ oven fan on, if you have one, for 42 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Slice with a serrated knife.