Bread! After experimenting, I think I finally have a good bread recipe. I combined a couple of recipes from my mother’s archive. The texture is soft without a lot of air pockets. The crust is lightly crisp without being overbearing. I baked 1 in a light pan, and 1 in a dark pan. They’re both about the same in color. Kneading by hand sure gets rid of a lot of stress!
In a bowl, combine:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
Whisk in:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
Mix well, then stir in:
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Knead dough for 10 minutes on floured surface. Dough will be sticky.
- Shape into ball, cover with oiled plastic, and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Punch down and knead for 3 minutes.
- Divide into two halves and shape/place into lightly greased loaf pans.
- Cover with oiled plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Heat oven at 450F for ten minutes.
- Remove plastic and put risen loaves into oven.
- Reduce heat to 375F and bake 25 to 30 minutes.