I know we’re all missing michelewln and her recipes. I’m not writing a cookbook myself (I write novels) but I do have some serious bread recipes I can share.
My mother couldn’t cook. I think I’ve said that before. (She didn’t know this.) I decided, as a pre-teen, that I was never eating bad food again, and by the time I was thirteen, I had taken over the kitchen for the family of six. I’ve made many hundreds of loaves of bread, and rolls, too, and these are among my favorites. Some not-really-secrets but standard procedure for me are using bottled or filtered water, and using plain salt, sold as “Canning and Pickling Salt.” And I use a premium, unbleached flour.
First is potato bread. This was my standard “plain” bread for years. It’s fine grained and delicious. Be prepared to be at this all day. Yes, I mean all day. And it’s worth it. I tripled the recipe because time, and then froze the two extras.
Potato Bread
Steam a russet potato until tender, then mash smooth. Save the water.
In a bowl, mix 3 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix in the mashed potatoes thoroughly, to make a homogeneous mixture.
Measure 1 ¼ cups liquid, using milk and the reserved water. Add 1 teaspoon yeast (dry or instant). Add that to the flour mixture, mixing in thoroughly. Knead the way you would for any bread, until the dough is smooth, about 10-20 minutes. (If you triple the recipe, do not triple the yeast. 1 ½ teaspoons will be more than enough. Too much yeast makes the bread dry.)
Cover this with a damp towel and let it rise. It will take longer than you may be used to, possibly 2 hours.
Degas the dough, knead it thoroughly, then shape into a loaf and put into a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until it reaches the top of the pan.
Bake in preheated oven 425° for about 45 minutes. Remove from the pan and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow.
This dough tends to form a skin if not handled properly, so be sure you cover it every time it’s rising, or the skin will inhibit the rising action.
How about rolls you can make in less than 2 hours? They’re made with yeast but you don’t have to knead it.
Batter rolls
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon honey or 2 Tablespoons sugar
¼ cup melted salted butter, divided (I usually end up using more than this)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1 ½ cups flour
Melt honey and 2 Tablespoons butter in the milk. Let it cool to lukewarm. Add salt and yeast. Stir in flour. Beat the batter until it is smooth and shiny. Let it rise until it’s doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter.
Stir the batter down. Pour a small spoonful of melted butter into muffin tins, spoon batter over the top, then top each roll with the remaining butter. Let rise again.
Bake at 400° for about 30 minutes. This makes 9 rolls in a regular sized muffin tin, or 6 rolls in the Texas sized tins. You can also drop it into a 9X9 casserole dish. Pour melted butter in first, then top with the remaining butter.
I don’t use a stand mixer, and at this late age I won’t buy one. I know how the dough is supposed to look and feel when it’s been kneaded “enough” and that’s what I go by.
Michelewln is in a rehab facility following a severe bout of pneumonia but she expects to be home very soon. You can connect with her on Twitter or use the email address in her PayPal account.