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?
Hi,
To everyone who says the yeast taste/smell is too much: I had this happen once when I made this bread-it happened because I didn't let it rise enough the first rise. You need to let it go until it doubles in size, even if it takes longer than usual. In this cold weather (I live in Syracuse, NY, where it's gotten UP to 20 only once this week), it can take up to 1 1/2 hours for it to really rise the first time.
This is a great recipe. I've also made it with only one packet of yeast, but that was using a Hodgson mill packets, which has 8.75g, compaired to the usual 7g in a regular pkg. When I do that, though, I need to bake it for 30 minutes instead of 23.
Yesterday I made a batch, and rolled 1/2 of it into 10 rolls, and the other into a loaf. Put them all on my Pampered Chef rectangular stone, and yum! The rolls were eaten before bed, and there's a good dent in the loaf already this morning. I used 2 cups unbleached white, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 c. stone ground corn meal, and 3 cups whole wheat. I also like adding some rye in place of some wheat flour, but I was all out yesterday.
1 package of yeast= 2 1/4 teaspoon or .25 oz
i would love to make this but the yeast i have isn't in "packs"...i got it at the bulk food store...so how much yeast sould i use? ??? mmmm i can't wiat to make this bread!!
Did anyone else find this to taste too much like yeast? It was a really strong taste. I used two packets like the directions said. I am going to try it again with only one packet. I had to throw it away because the taste was horrible.
Yes, I have to agree. I will also use less yeast next time. It did not help that the same week we were doing fermentation and distillation in chemistry class. The yeast smell just gets way too much at some point.
I love, love, LOVE this bread. I've made bread the "traditional" way before - i.e. takes for freaking ever and is very labor intensive - and the results were very bland and blah (gee, thanks Emeril). But I think this stuff is amazing and everyone that tries it thinks that it is, too. I make mine with whole wheat flour and sub out 1/2 - 1 cup of it for vital wheat gluten. I also stir my yeast when I'm blossoming it...there's really no reason to not stir it, as the recipe states. All you're doing is wasting yeast and asking for a denser bread when you don't stir!
At any rate, I've made this recipe twice, once hand-formed in a rough loaf shape and baked on a flat sheet and once in a loaf pan. I liked the result of the first better, because it seemed to cook more evenly in my oven and the vinegar that I sprayed on it evaporated better. When I used the vinegar in the loaf pan, it seemed to collect on the sides and in the bottom, lending the bread a very distinctive vinegary flavor.
I plan on making it again tonight to go with some vegan chili, and I can't wait! Believe it or not, making this bread is one of the highlights of my kitchen...so fun, so easy, so yummy!
I've been quietly making this recipe for months, now. I wanted to thank you.
When I bake, I usually make one loaf and get creative with the rest of the dough. This time, I stuffed pieces of dough with diced apples, sugared ginger, currants, and EB before baking. They make fantastic "breakfast on the go" pockets.
This bread was just amazing. I usually make bread with my handy dandy breadmaker, but i wanted to make homemade bread since my husband prefers it. From now on, the bread machine will onnly be used for pizza dough...this is the bread I will make instead!
I used whole wheat flour because I ran out of white flour...otherwise I would have used 1/2 and 1/2
Zahara
I should add that I used half whole wheat and half white flour; since it's nowhere near being too dense, I'll probably use 2/3 whole wheat next time. And I think it'd be delicious with garlic and basil in it.
This was my first bread ever to make myself. It was so so so good! I had to leave the house for classes, so I let it rise for 2.5-3 hours each of the two times. I was worried that I let it rise too long the first time, but it rose much more the second time than it already had the first time (I put it somewhere warmer the second time). Absolutely terrific! And easy! I'm so excited about being able to make delicious BREAD! THANK YOU!
Did anyone else find this to taste too much like yeast? It was a really strong taste. I used two packets like the directions said. I am going to try it again with only one packet. I had to throw it away because the taste was horrible.
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