Last night I did indeed make the Amish white bread—and stayed up, as Herself let me know, quite a bit past my bedtime. It's worth the sacrifice for bread, though, isn't it? Here's what I made:
Amish White
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Let stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). Add the oil and 1 cup of flour. Mix until combined; then add the salt and the rest of the flour. Mix to combine.
On a floured surface, knead for 8 or 10 minutes (I usually go toward the long end of this, unless I've added more flour). Return to the bowl, oil the top (I always forget this step, and maybe that explains the issue below), and cover with cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
(The recipe at this point just says "shape into an oblong loaf". This is how I've always done it. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it's always worked!) Punch down the dough, and roll it out into an oblong, flat and fairly thin. Roll the dough up by the short side into a loaf shape, and press the ends together into seams (i.e. one on each end, and one for the end of the roll). Put the loaf, seam side down, into the pan. Let it proof for half an hour. Preheat oven to 350.
Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped, about 30 or 40 minutes.
So there you go! You might notice from my picture, though, that the top of the bread was a bit ... scaly:
I'm not sure why that was; it's never come out that way before. Maybe because I didn't oil the top of the bread? Or maybe I had too much flour on the floured surface? It'll still be delicious.
God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread.
Amish White
- 1 cup warm water
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 packet (1¾ teaspoon) yeast
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon (kosher) salt (I still just use the regular salt; it seems to work fine)
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Let stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). Add the oil and 1 cup of flour. Mix until combined; then add the salt and the rest of the flour. Mix to combine.
On a floured surface, knead for 8 or 10 minutes (I usually go toward the long end of this, unless I've added more flour). Return to the bowl, oil the top (I always forget this step, and maybe that explains the issue below), and cover with cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
(The recipe at this point just says "shape into an oblong loaf". This is how I've always done it. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it's always worked!) Punch down the dough, and roll it out into an oblong, flat and fairly thin. Roll the dough up by the short side into a loaf shape, and press the ends together into seams (i.e. one on each end, and one for the end of the roll). Put the loaf, seam side down, into the pan. Let it proof for half an hour. Preheat oven to 350.
Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped, about 30 or 40 minutes.
So there you go! You might notice from my picture, though, that the top of the bread was a bit ... scaly:
I'm not sure why that was; it's never come out that way before. Maybe because I didn't oil the top of the bread? Or maybe I had too much flour on the floured surface? It'll still be delicious.
God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread.
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