I love carbs. And so do my kids. America may run on Dunkin', but this family? This family runs on bread...any and all. My kids do well eating dinner on a normal basis, unless there are carrots present, but on the nights where pasta, pizza, rice, or dinner rolls are involved...there can not. be. enough. I make 2 pounds of pasta when it's pasta night. TWO. POUNDS. As a result, I have decided to start baking different types of bread that I can either have on hand for sandwiches, to serve with dinner, or just to have as a snack, since my 6 year old will just ask for a slice of bread several times throughout the day.
First up...English Muffin Bread. I chose this recipe for a two reasons. One, the ingredient list was simple. Flour, yeast, baking soda, milk, water, sugar, salt and cornmeal...all of which I already had on hand. It was meant to be.
The second reason...and most importantly for me...there was a picture of the end result. I am a visual learner and it is SO much easier for me to commit to a recipe if I have something to look at. So, with a fairly easy ingredient list and a picture of what it should look like at the finish to gauge how I did (in addition to taste)...I went for it.
I gathered all my ingredients (shown below). And while it did present as a nice photo op to add to the blog, my OCD usually has me lining all of the ingredients, in order as listed in the recipe, before I begin. This only pertains to baking though. If I'm cooking a new dinner recipe, it's every ingredient for itself, as I may or may not put in what is called for, and I tend to eyeball the amount of everything I add instead of measuring things out. Don't ask why. I have no clue.
I started mixing the dry ingredients, then moved on to the warming of the milk and adding it to the dry. I have a stand mixer, but the instructions specifically said to use a wooden spoon...not sure if this has any affect on the dough itself but, I didn't want to risk it. Plus, I work out. So my biceps can take the mixing.
So I mixed...added more flour...mixed...added more flour...mixed added more flour. That was it. I didn't realize that this recipe was a 'no knead' recipe. On one hand, I was like, heck yeah, just split the dough into two lumps and let it rise. On the other hand, I was skeptical. Bread needs to be kneaded...I've never not kneaded dough...maybe it's because it's English.
Anyway...into two pre-greased/pre-corn mealed loaf pans my dough went. It needed a warm place to rise, so I put it in the oven that I had turned on just for a few minutes to start to heat up (then turned off so the bread wouldn't actually bake...duh), covered them, and set the timer. Forty minutes later, I took the risen dough out, turned the oven back on to heat to 400 degrees, and popped the bread back in for 25 minutes. Easy peasy.
The house smelled DELICIOUS. There is nothing more wonderful, to my mind, than the house smelling of freshly baked bread. It's just so good! When the bread was done, it looked good. Tasted good too...so, win for the recipe.
The only thing I did not like, and will try to 'fix' the next time I make this recipe, was the top of the bread was a little too floury. This may be a result of the non-kneading part, although it was super crusty and crunchy on the outside, like an English muffin after it's toasted (probably where it got the name, har har), but maybe a little less flour would help it not be so...dusty...on top? (The one on the left was dustier than the one on the right, obviously...not sure why). Regardless, it was yummy and my kids loved it.
24 hours later...they had already devoured an entire loaf and started on the second.
I live with animals I tell you, animals.
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