Daily Bread

So many kinds of bread and so little time.

It's a journey we all are on. A journey to find the balance between our busy busy lives and the yearning for the old ways, the smell of fresh baked bread, knowing it was made with loving hands just for you with wholesome ingredients.

This might help. And a Kitchen Aid mixer helps too.

This recipe makes three, three nice brown loaves of French bread, or a dozen hamburger/ sandwich buns, or a dozen of the best hot dog bugs you've ever eaten. Did I mention that it's ready one hour from start to finish? Hot homemade bread in an hour? Yeah. That's the best part.

You need:
6-7 cups of flour -I like King Arthur bread flour
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast

Put 1/3 cup warm water in a small bowl with the yeast and stir. It should be warmer than body temp but not hot.

Put the coconut oil and sugar in the mixer bowl and squish together with a spoon. Pour a cup of boiling water over and stir to dissolve. Add another cup of cold water in the mixer bowl. Test to be sure it's not hot anymore and add the yeast mixture.

Dump in two cups of flour and start mixing on low with the bread hook. Add two more cups flour and start watching. Now add the salt.
Turn up the mixer and keep adding flour until it cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn up to medium hi and knead 8 minutes. Sprinkle with flour occasionally if needed to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl.
After 8 minutes pull the dough hook out and cover the bowl. Let rise 20 minutes. 

Chicago Metallic® Professional French Bread Pan, 2 Loaves, 16" x 8" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cut for French Bread

Meanwhile rub coconut oil on the cookie sheet you'll bake on. When the bread is done, dump it out on the sheet and let rest 5 minutes. Then cut in thirds. Now you have to decide.
French bread?
Focaccia?
Buns?

Cutting for buns

For French bread, flour a counter and lay one section down. With your fingertips mottle the dough to spread out into a rectangle. Roll up longways to make the baguette, tuck the ends under and place on the sheet. Make three slits in the top and paint with an egg wash all over the surface and in the cracks. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like.

For hamburger buns cut each section in four. Take each piece and tuck the edges under to make a ball. Now we have to get rid of the seams. Laying the ball on its side, run the side of your hand like a saw against the counter, squishing the side with the seams to make a point. Then just poke the point into the bottom of the bun, place on sheet, paint with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Same idea for the hot dog buns.

Place the sheet in a cold oven, turn to 170, and time 15 min. When it dings turn the oven to 400 and time 15 more minutes. Ding ding again and you remove the bread from the sheet, place on the rack and bake 5 min more. Done! And wow so yummy. Cool on a cooling rack. I know it'll be hard, but let it cool a few minutes before slicing into that golden crust.  Next experiment is going to be cloverleaf rolls with honey butter.  Might make it into Valentine's dinner!