Cracker Bread

Today my husband started early and made Cracker Bread.    Making Cracker Bread takes extra time.  Making Cracker Bread is allot of work.  But believe me it is so worth it!  I'll be munching away on these sheets of Cracker Bread that we don't give away, and everybody wants them when we make them.  Good with just a little butter or served plain.  Goes with soups and salads equally well.  Spread them with peanut butter, tuna, chicken or egg salad spread. 

Decorated loaves of Bread

It's my fault.  I said something about liking rustic french bread better than our regular homemade bread.  What was I thinking?    I ended up with these fantastic loaves of bread.  I think Derin had way too much fun baking bread today.   And Oh Boy, did it ever smell good!    Aren't they good lookin' loaves?

Large Loaf Antique Bread Pans

Antique Tin Bread Pans

Derin has been looking for large bread pans for a long time.  We found 4 Antique Tin Backing Bread Pans on eBay from an Estate Sale.  The pans measure 12" x 8" x 4"  -  they are big!

Antique Tin Bread Pans

 After cleaning and re-seasoning the bread pans Derin made bread.      Nothing better than fresh, homemade bread!

Bread ready to raise

Ready to go in the oven

Fresh bread out of the oven

Ready to eat

                             

Large Loaves of Bread

Large loaves are fun and easy to make. The hardest part is getting the dough properly kneaded.  The trick is to let the yeast to do most of the work.  You simply have to allow enough time for the dough to rise three times, twice in your bread bowl or on the counter and once after you have shaped the dough into loaves.  In between the separate risings, you can beat the dough with an old rolling pin or with your meat tenderizer.  This beating of the dough is easier than kneading and more efficient.  The beating will allow you to achieve a much finer crumb.   Use bread flour to make better bread.  One package or one tablespoon of yeast will work.  Too much yeast and the little guys will simply wear out your gluten resulting in baked bread that crumbles or dough that is just to weak to hold itself up.

This particular large loaf was made with:

    1.       10 cups of bread flour.

2.       1 tablespoon of yeast, I prefer Star over Fleishmans because the yeast seems to be more active.

3.       2 cups of melted butter.

4.       2 teaspoons of salt

     5.       ½ cup of Splenda (sugar substitute)

6.       Water, enough to make dough.

Place 5 cups of the flour in your bread bowl, the yeast, butter, salt and Splenda.   Now add enough water to enable you to stir the mixture together.  This will result in a goopy mixture but now we will add the rest of our flour, kneading the dough with one hand only.   This will allow you to keep one hand clean, for doing things that require a clean hand.  If you need more than the remaining 5 cups of flour to turn the mixture into dough it is OK, add what you need.  The yeast will be happy, more food.  I like to make a firm dough by adding enough flour to make the dough a little dryer than usual.  This will give you a more controlled rise in pans (no mushrooming) and a more vertical rise if the loaves are free standing.  Be sure to coat your dough with butter or olive oil while it is rising, also cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap.  This will prevent a dry crust from forming while the loaves are rising.

Now allow your dough to raise three times, the final rise in the shape of the loaf you want.  Now that your dough has completed its third raising, it is time to bake.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, place the loaf in the center of the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees.  Bake the loaf for 75 minutes.  At the end of this time, check the loaf’s interior temperature with an instant read thermometer.  The loaf will be done if the interior temperature has reached 200 degrees.  I have found this to be true with all types of breads from loaves to coffee rings.  Of course, if you don’t have an instant read thermometer you can use the standard tests for doneness, loaf has shrunk away from the sides of the pan a little bit, the loaf has reached the proper coloring and finally when the loaf is removed from the pan and tapped on the bottom a hollow sound is produced.

To achieve good color on the sides and bottom of your bread use pans that are old and well seasoned or new and seasoned by the manufacturer.  In other words dark pans.   If you don’t have pans like this simply remove the loaf from the pan at the end of the baking period, place the loaf back in the oven, turn the oven off and leave the loaf in the oven for approximately 5 minutes.

Derin is Cookin' for Easter

Derin is making a dinner bread and cake for Easter.  He took over the day to day cooking when he retired.  I just let him.  He likes to cook,  I can cook but I'd rather sew.  He cooks from scratch, I am a 'home assembled' cook - in other words I open cans and packages.  I can help him cook but he cannot help me because I don't do it right.  He tells me so.   So I let him cook and best of all he cleans up after cooking  (I taught him that - VBG).  The bread was a cheese and herb combination and the cake is 6 layers with a raspberry filling and butter cream frosting.