Contributed by:
January Bain
(januarybain.ca)
Fantasy & Sci-Fi
Story behind the recipe –I have loved to bake since I was very young. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, if you count the weight gain!) early on I discovered how creative one can be in the kitchen. I probably am most proud of my bread making skills, hence this very first bread recipe that I discovered.
What you’ll need – 2 Tbsp of active dry yeast, the old-fashioned type that requires ten minutes of rising before being added to the recipe.
- 3 cups of warm water, divided
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar plus ¼ cup
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 4 Tbsp of butter (plus extra to brush on top of freshly baked buns)
- 8-10 cups of regular flour (or bread flour, if you like)
Steps to the process
- Proof yeast in 1 Tbsp of sugar and ½ cup of warm water.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add 2 ½ cups of warm water, ¼ cup of sugar, 1 tsp of salt, 4 Tbsp of butter (the butter should not melt completely if the temperature is right)
- Place 5-6 cups flour into large mixing bowl. Add yeast to small bowl of ingredients and add everything to the large bowl.
- Stir by hand or with a food processor for ten minutes or until dough gathers into a ball and then becomes elastic in texture.
- Place ball of dough into a greased bowl with room for it to double in bulk. Cover with greased parchment paper and then a tea towel or cloth. Place in oven that has had the heat on low for five minutes and then turned off for fifteen. Make sure the oven is just slightly warm.
- When dough is doubled in bulk (1.5 to 2 hours) punch dough down and form into 24 balls on two greased cookie sheets. At this point you can fry the bread on the stove in a pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter and this is delicious too!
- Rise for 45 minutes to one hour more till buns are doubled in size.
- Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 18-25 minutes till they are brown and hollow when tapped.
- Brush buns with butter and let cool on racks and wrap.
Comments – They’ll be nice and airy buns that freeze well, that is, if you have any left to freeze!!!
Blurb from Forever Man - This is my first book and it’s the first in the Forever Series and will be coming out in July 2012 from Champagne Books. The heroine, Ellie Hightower, is thinking…
There is no place like Nome! The weathered road sign brought a slight smile to my lips as it was the first sign of human inhabitance I’d spotted since driving off the ferry onto Alaskan soil. Nome being home, I like that, corny as it sounds. I’m always sleuthing out signposts of the hand of fate to follow and this one looked good to me.