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?
I screwed up!!! I am sooooooooo disappointed! >:( This is the first time I am baking anything using yeast and I used too much water to dissolve the yeast in. And I kneaded my dough in even less than half that solution. I am pretty sure I am going to have to throw this away. :'( I just finished making it and now my dough is resting to rise. Let's hope it rises a little bit at least....
Another variation that works:
soak 3/4 cup grains of choice in 1 cup boiling water until absorbed (20 min or so). I use bulgar and flax.
should equal about 1 cup.
use with 2 cups rye flour and 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (because of the extra moisture from the soaked grains you might even need a bit more.
I mix the grains and rye in the first time, and the whole wheat in the second time.
the more doughy and less sticky the dough is, the better it will rise.
I also cut the salt down to 1 tsp, but kept the yeast at 2 pkgs (i like the flavor, and since it is two loaves...)
seriously, though, this is amazing. I have ruined every single other bread recipe i have ever made besides this one.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 118 g (1/12 recipe)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 293
Calories from Fat 60
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6.7g10%
Saturated Fat 1.3g6%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 584mg24%
Total Carbohydrates 50.8g17%
Dietary Fiber 1.7g7%
Sugars 3.3g
Protein 6.5g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1% • Iron 16%
Nutrition Grade B
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
:-*
WOW. this is the first time in my many years of cooking/baking that I have successfully made bread. (it's been a tough few years of eating store-bought brick bread and accidentally making bricks of solid flour in the oven using "traditional" recipes -- you know what i am talking about).
I made a pretty major change to the recipe:
I used 4 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of flax meal. I also used brown sugar.
I DID kneed it -- but only about 10 times -- in unbleached flour, to give it a bit more elasticity.
It turned out beautifully soft and fluffy. Just let it rise for a while undisturbed and it will turn out alright.
Also, I made veggie-dog-buns with half of the dough. It yielded 6 hotdog-style-buns. to make the right size for a veggie dog, I pulled off a handful of the dough after kneeding and rolled it into a sphere and then rubbed it between my hands until it was the size and shape of a hotdog. after rising again and then baking, they were the perfect size for a veggie dog (or to be spread with soy margarine and jam!).
i love this bread, it really is outrageously easy, and so yummy! i use all wholewheat flour and also subsitute the oil for a little rice milk and it still rises beautifully and comes out lovely and soft. mmmmmmm. i make this all the time now, to hell with my breadmaker!
i just have to say though, that i only use two teaspoons of yeast for the whole recipe and it works really well. when i've used more than that, the dough comes out really yeasty and tastes awful.
This bread turned out delicious! I did make a few changes, though.
-I used walnut oil because it was all I had.
-to replace one cup of flour I used 1/2 c ground flax, & 1/2 c ground millet
-I used wheat flour
-on top of the loaf, just before baking I rubbed some oil & sprinkled a mix of herbs & seeds. I used poppy seeds, caraway seeds, sesame seeds, onion & garlic flakes, & thyme.
It ended up tasting great, but the seeds/herbs did fall off when I cut the loaf. I think if you make some sort of egg substitute glaze then they would stay better. Next time I plan to put them in the loaf.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I've made this bread twice. It's very good, however, I was wondering how to make it a bit lighter. It seems that when I make it, it turns out dense.
Let it rise more. I set mind on top of the stove when the oven is on warm. It speeds things up.
I've made this many many times and it always turns out outstandingly. Usually both loaves are gone a day or two after I make it. I don't think this is really easy, but no good bread recipe is. ::)
Hi LindsayLoo,
Okay, so I looked at the recipe and I have an idea. If the water is too hot when you put the yeast in the water / flour mixture you'll kill the yeast, and thats sounds like you did... Maybe? :)
Thanks Sisse :) The dough seemed to get a lot bigger during the rising periods, but it more expanded horizontally than rose. In the oven it didn't rise at all, and the crust was not, well, crusty! The yeast was very foamy after sitting in the water for a few minutes. The same thing happened when i made rye bread. Also, i don't remember what setting i had the oven on last time, but today i used convection at 350 degrees- maybe that was part of the problem. Any ideas? ???
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