Outrageously Easy BIG Bread
2 (1/4 ounce) packets yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons turbinado
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups + 3 cups flour, divided
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil
1. To proof yeast, pour warm water into a small ceramic bowl and add the yeast, but do not stir. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, pour hot water over the turbinado and salt; stir with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve. Combine 3 cups flour with the hot water mixture. Pour the oil on top of the dough mixture then add the yeast mixture on top of that, but do not stir.
2. Top with the remaining 3 cups flour and mix well. (I begin mixing with the wooden spoon but I very quickly have to move into squishing the dough with my hands.) At this point, the dough should be pliant and moist, but not gooey. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside to rise for at least 45 minutes. (I've left it for almost two hours.)
3. On a lightly floured cutting board or countertop, divide the dough into half. (This is when I recruit someone to knead the dough, but the recipe actually calls for no kneading; I've done this recipe many times without kneading anything, and it always turns out really good.) Flatten each half into roughly an oval/rounded rectangular shape, about 1/2-3/4" thickness.
4. Roll the dough lengthwise and place on an ungreased, but very BIG, cookie sheet. (If you don't have a very large cookie sheet, use two cookie sheets, one for each half of the dough.) Cover the dough with a moist towel and set aside to rise again for another 45 minutes (or longer).
5. After the dough has risen the second time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for exactly 23 minutes. If you can keep everyone from digging in right away, allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then enjoy. (Also, before the bread bakes, you can slit the top of each lump of dough a couple of times and brush lightly with some kind of egg substitute. The glaze helps the bread come out with a slightly crunchier crust. I don't usually bother.)
Source of recipe: Whenever I go to potlucks, I bake this bread and it disappears within minutes. I've even had special requests for it. At a family Christmas, after I found out that store-bought rolls (ick!) would be served with the Christmas Eve dinner, I announced that I would make homemade bread. Since dinner would be served in a little less than two hours and since my family knows how much I absolutely detest cooking, my mother thought I was lying. She couldn't believe that I could make "respectable" bread without any kneading and in time for dinner. I made this bread and, as usual, it vanished almost instantly. My mother got this bread recipe from me. I think the dogs got the store-bought rolls.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
this recipe is rad
way easy to make, tastes really good, 5 stars
only change I made was I added 1/3 vital wheat gluten and 2/3 regular flour
awesome out of the oven
:D I LOVE this recipe!! I've made it sooo many times and have shared with family and friends (and referred people to vegweb because of this recipe!).
Quick question: I want to freeze the dough to make it at a later point. Would I want to freeze it after the 1st rising or the 2nd rising? Does it even matter?
I believe you would freeze it after the first rising, or even after half of the first rising. You definitely want to let it rise fully after thawing.
:D I LOVE this recipe!! I've made it sooo many times and have shared with family and friends (and referred people to vegweb because of this recipe!).
Quick question: I want to freeze the dough to make it at a later point. Would I want to freeze it after the 1st rising or the 2nd rising? Does i even matter?
I halved the recipe with no problems, and I made two loaves. I added a bunch of seasonings from my pantry, like garlic and onion powder, to the mixture for added flavor. The bread soaks up pasta sauces wonderfully. Great recipe.
mine just came out of the oven, and a taste test confirms that this bread is delicious! I tried the suggested vinegar/water spray a few times while baking, and it made for an excellent crust.
Only problem is, mine didn't get very big at all! I measured everything precisely, let it rise 1 hour the first time, kneaded for five minutes, then gave it an additional two hours (the last one of those in a 170 degree oven) to rise the second time. I just used my yeast pretty recently in another bread recipe, and that one rose adequately....I mean, this bread probably didn't even double in size, making probably the squattest little loaf I've ever made. I followed the directions exactly--but did something go wrong with my yeast in the process?
This recipe is foolproof. The best bread I've ever made. (Omit the salt though).
I attempted this recipe three times. Since this was the first time I'd ever made bread, I followed the recipe exactly the first two times. I even used bread flour. The dough did not rise at ALL either of the first two tries. It was in a warm place, under a damp cloth. I kneaded it for about ten minutes just to see what would happen, but it didn't make a difference in the final product. It tasted okay once it had been baked, but it was flat and very dense.
Thinking there might be something wrong with my yeast, I did a little research. Every other bread recipe I came across called for the sugar to be added directly to the yeast mixture to "activate" it. On the third attempt I tried this, and the yeast bubbled and foamed and "bloomed", like I gather it was supposed to. The dough doubled in size both times I left it to rise, and I kneaded it again. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly, and the result was much closer to what I had been expecting.
I'm not quite sure how so many people have gotten "perfect" bread out of this without adding the sugar to the yeast, but I sure am curious! Anyone else have similar issues?
That said, it was quite tasty once I got it to rise properly, and this has been added to my regular rotation.
This makes great toast! :D I made one loaf plain, and added a lot of rosemary, black pepper & other Italian herbs to the other. They really have great flavor (the Italian one is my favorite, but the plain is great with jam!), and as I said, make awesome toast... But they didn't get quite as fluffy & light as I personally like my bread. The loaves seem a little heavy & dense to just eat plain. But at least I have a lot of bread for delicious toast now! ;)
YUM! This is a great recipe. It's easy and provides exactly what it advertises, outrageously easy BIG Bread! This was my first time making successful bread, usually I have trouble with it, but when I saw this recipe, I decided one more try to try to make bread. The dough was so much I was able to make breadsticks, a loaf, and a bunch of breadrolls. It turned out really good. I made french toast with the bread for morning the next day and then seitan sandwiches for lunch. I am so happy for this recipe!
This bread is so easy! Anybody intimidated at the very idea of a YEAST recipe should make this bread as a first attempt! My friend is
having a treatment done next week and for 10 days she can't have iodized salt or dairy. She's getting tired of cooking so I'm
planning a meatloaf dinner(sorry vegans) and I needed to make bread with uniodized salt to make breadcrumbs. I'm keeping this
recipe and already took her a loaf of bread--she loved it too! I swear if she doesn't make this--I'll teach her boyfriend to make it. I
really believe anybody can make this recipe. I'm keeping it on file and will use it again soon! :)Dying to go looking around this great website that I've bookmarked!
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