I am making homemade soup for dinner tonight and what better than a crusty loaf of bread to go with it. Even though I had to run to the store for some ingredients for the soup, I decided to bake my own bread instead of buying some. There is just something so comforting about warm bread right out of the oven.
It is not very difficult to make this bread , and there isn’t much kneading involved. This recipe is once again from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and it doesn’t appear to be on-line. This cookbook is like gold to me, I may need to get it insured along with my wedding rings!
Ingredients:
3 – 3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup very warm water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg white
1 tbsp. cold water
Combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
Add warm water and oil and beat on low speed of an electric mixer for 1 minute scraping the bowl frequently. Increase speed to medium and beat for another minute.
Stir in 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is easy to handle.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Grease a bowl with olive oil and roll the dough over in the bowl to coat with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and cut in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle on a lightly floured board.
Starting with the long side, roll the dough up tightly to form a loaf.
Pinch the edge and the sides of the dough, then roll the loaf back and forth a few times.
Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make small slices across the loaves, then brush with cold water. Let rise uncovered for an hour until it doubles in size.
Once it has risen, brush the loaves with the egg white and cold water mixture.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees until brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Now try not to eat all of the bread before you make the soup!
