I got this great recipe from my friend Brittney and I don't think I'll ever buy store bought buns again. (Okay, I'm sure I'll get desperate at some point when I need a ton, but I never want to buy them again.) She triples this and freezes the rest, but we don't have a lot of freezer space and my family prefers them fresh.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp oil (I always use olive oil, but I'm sure any kind is fine)
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (I use bread flour, but all-purpose works fine too. You could also do up to half whole grain flour without needing to adjust the recipe.)
I just throw this in my bread machine on the "dough" setting (it's just a 1 1/2 pound machine, but since I don't cook the bread it can handle this large of a recipe). Then I shape them and cook them.
If you don't have a bread machine:
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar and stir: in a few minutes it should start to foam (an easy trick to see if you have your water warm enough and your yeast is alive). Pour into a large bowl (I always use my mixer) and add other ingredients. Adjust flour amount so that dough clings to dough hook but is not too dry. Knead on low for 5 minutes. Cover and let raise until doubles, about one hour.
Shaping the buns:
Makes 12 hamburger buns or 8 (large) hotdog buns.
I flour my hands and roll the hamburger buns into balls. For hotdog buns, be sure to make them very slender (I roll them like I would to make snakes with play-dough when I was a kid) because these rise very well. I try to make them the length of the sausages we're eating and this usually works well.
Allow to raise until they are the size you want, usually about an hour but sometimes I've found that they're rising so well (and getting so large) that I want to cook them sooner.
Bake at 400 for 12 to 14 minutes.
When I get store-bought buns and my meat (hamburger, sausage, whatever) is all gone I never want to eat the leftover bun, but not with these. And they are so easy!
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Sunday, November 7, 2010
100% Whole Wheat Bread (Bread Machine)
I started with the 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe that came with my bread machine instruction booklet, but found that I really had to tweak it to work with my machine. This is the result.
Ingredients (for 1 1/2 pound loaf):
1 1/8 cup water
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cup wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast
Add ingredients into your bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. My machine says to put liquids in first, flour 2nd to last, and yeast on top (in case you decide to use the delay start). I use the whole grain setting (3 1/2 hours).
A few tips: Measure the oil and then use the same measuring spoon for the molasses - it will slide right out.
I do a little more than 1 cup of water (1 cup was too little, 1 1/4 was too much).
More bread tips.
Variations: Instead of 3 cups of wheat flour, do 2 3/4 cups wheat flour, 1/4 cup ground flax seed, and 1/3 cup cracked wheat (be sure to put the cracked wheat on top of the flour so that it doesn't soak up all the water). I like this variation because it gives the bread texture.
Ingredients (for 1 1/2 pound loaf):
1 1/8 cup water
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cup wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast
Add ingredients into your bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. My machine says to put liquids in first, flour 2nd to last, and yeast on top (in case you decide to use the delay start). I use the whole grain setting (3 1/2 hours).
A few tips: Measure the oil and then use the same measuring spoon for the molasses - it will slide right out.
I do a little more than 1 cup of water (1 cup was too little, 1 1/4 was too much).
More bread tips.
Variations: Instead of 3 cups of wheat flour, do 2 3/4 cups wheat flour, 1/4 cup ground flax seed, and 1/3 cup cracked wheat (be sure to put the cracked wheat on top of the flour so that it doesn't soak up all the water). I like this variation because it gives the bread texture.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Bread Tips
I love homemade bread! If I never had to buy store-bought bread again I'd be happy. Here are some tips I've found:
-Spray the bread with cooking spray to keep the crust moist (other recipe books have suggested brushing with milk or butter, but I've never tried this).
-Slice your bread with an electric knife (turkey carver). It helps to not crush the bread and is so much less work (but does have a tendency to spray the crumbs further).
-Especially for bread machine bread, I've found it best to allow the bread to cool and then bag it up for a few hours before slicing. This softens the crust, keeps the bread more moist and also seems to help the flavor.
-Again, for bread machine bread, I often (thinly) slice off the bottom of the loaf because it is pretty tough. If you use an electric knife this is pretty easy to do without wasting a slice of bread. For breads with thick crusts I often trim the sides as well (the top is always fine).
-Store homemade bread in the freezer unless you plan to eat it in a day or two. It will taste fresh whenever you pull it out to eat it and easily defrosts in a fridge in a few hours. We make our sandwiches all at the same time and freeze them so it makes it much easier to prepare lunches for the work day.
-Spray the bread with cooking spray to keep the crust moist (other recipe books have suggested brushing with milk or butter, but I've never tried this).
-Slice your bread with an electric knife (turkey carver). It helps to not crush the bread and is so much less work (but does have a tendency to spray the crumbs further).
-Especially for bread machine bread, I've found it best to allow the bread to cool and then bag it up for a few hours before slicing. This softens the crust, keeps the bread more moist and also seems to help the flavor.
-Again, for bread machine bread, I often (thinly) slice off the bottom of the loaf because it is pretty tough. If you use an electric knife this is pretty easy to do without wasting a slice of bread. For breads with thick crusts I often trim the sides as well (the top is always fine).
-Store homemade bread in the freezer unless you plan to eat it in a day or two. It will taste fresh whenever you pull it out to eat it and easily defrosts in a fridge in a few hours. We make our sandwiches all at the same time and freeze them so it makes it much easier to prepare lunches for the work day.
Whole Wheat Bread
I finally found a whole wheat bread recipe that raises well, but doesn't take all day. I found a recipe on recipezaar.com and adjusted it for my needs (they seemed to have changed website host and their recipe a bit, but this is the closest I could find).
2 cups milk
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup warm water
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
a little sugar (about 1/2 tsp)
about 7 cups whole wheat flour
cooking spray
In a Pyrex measuring cup, warm milk and butter in the microwave for about 3 minutes (don't let it boil or it will kill the yeast). While this is warming up, add yeast to the warm water. I like to add a little bit of sugar so that the yeast will foam and I will know if it's working (this will take a few minutes). When the milk is warm, add in salt, brown sugar, and molasses. Pour milk mixture and yeast mixture into a mixer. Mix until blended and add flour one cup at a time. When the dough begins to get thick change to a dough hook (around 4-5 cups of flour added). Continue to slowly add flour until dough pulls away from the sides (make sure dough is still moist) and allow mixer to knead your dough for a few minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Pour dough into bowl, turn over (so that some cooking spray is now on top), cover and allow to rise for one hour (or until it doubles in size).
Spray two bread pans with cooking spray. Divide dough into two parts and place in bread pans. Allow to rise for one hours (or until doubled in size).
Preheat oven to 375. Cook on middle rack for 35-40 minutes (do not under cook).
Remove bread from pans, spray with cooking spray (to keep crust moist), and allow to cool.
Unfortunately, I don't think I have any pictures because I have started using my bread machine to make bread now, but I LOVE how well this rises and tastes delicious.
Changes I made:
-I found that the original recipe made the bread a little dry, but adding the molasses really helped that.
-The original recipe says to heat the milk in a saucepan, but I always had to keep a close eye on it so that it wouldn't get too hot. Then my mom suggested that I should just use the microwave and I knew she was a genius! :)
-I always halve the salt in recipes and my husband never complains about that in my baking (even though he loves salt).
2 cups milk
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup warm water
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
a little sugar (about 1/2 tsp)
about 7 cups whole wheat flour
cooking spray
In a Pyrex measuring cup, warm milk and butter in the microwave for about 3 minutes (don't let it boil or it will kill the yeast). While this is warming up, add yeast to the warm water. I like to add a little bit of sugar so that the yeast will foam and I will know if it's working (this will take a few minutes). When the milk is warm, add in salt, brown sugar, and molasses. Pour milk mixture and yeast mixture into a mixer. Mix until blended and add flour one cup at a time. When the dough begins to get thick change to a dough hook (around 4-5 cups of flour added). Continue to slowly add flour until dough pulls away from the sides (make sure dough is still moist) and allow mixer to knead your dough for a few minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Pour dough into bowl, turn over (so that some cooking spray is now on top), cover and allow to rise for one hour (or until it doubles in size).
Spray two bread pans with cooking spray. Divide dough into two parts and place in bread pans. Allow to rise for one hours (or until doubled in size).
Preheat oven to 375. Cook on middle rack for 35-40 minutes (do not under cook).
Remove bread from pans, spray with cooking spray (to keep crust moist), and allow to cool.
Unfortunately, I don't think I have any pictures because I have started using my bread machine to make bread now, but I LOVE how well this rises and tastes delicious.
Changes I made:
-I found that the original recipe made the bread a little dry, but adding the molasses really helped that.
-The original recipe says to heat the milk in a saucepan, but I always had to keep a close eye on it so that it wouldn't get too hot. Then my mom suggested that I should just use the microwave and I knew she was a genius! :)
-I always halve the salt in recipes and my husband never complains about that in my baking (even though he loves salt).
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