Put Your Apron On...

Not much compares to the aroma and the taste of freshly-baked homemade bread, warm out of the oven... 

We found a bread recipe many years ago (long before bread machines became available items for the home kitchen) to make a single loaf in a couple of hours. It does use a bit of elbow-grease to stir the thick, heavy batter, but no kneading is required & your hands stay clean!  

Over the years, we've adapted the original recipe to create a fabulously tasty loaf every time... its versatility is endless when it comes to adding different ingredients to vary the flavors, too! The best part of this recipe ~ it’s dairy-free and preservative-free!! (No worries about it going bad ~ it’ll get eaten before that happens!) This bread produces a nice airy, coarse texture... wonderful for toast and for sandwiches or as a side with soups & stews...  

In future blog posts, we'll be sharing some of our favorite variations with you as well, so be sure to bookmark this page, or copy & paste the recipe into Word and save it to a folder in your computer. You can also print this page from your browser settings. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or contact us by email at the address on the right sidebar... 

So, now that you are drooling... here’s a basic recipe for BASIC BATTER BREAD. Enjoy!! 

BASIC BATTER BREAD

1½ cups White Unbleached Flour                     
½ cup + 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour  
2¼ teaspoons (1 envelope) Quick-Rise Yeast
1½ teaspoons Salt                    
2 tablespoons Sugar  
2 tablespoons Sunflower Oil                                      

1¾ cups Warm Water 
Generously grease a large loaf pan. Preheat oven on lowest bake setting (about 80°F) and turn off when temperature is reached. 

In a large bowl, stir white flour, ½ cup wheat flour, sugar, salt and yeast together with a whisk to mix well. Using a mixing spoon, add oil and warm water; mix well until smooth and flour is mixed in. Add remaining 1 cup of wheat flour, mix very well ~ dough will be quite stiff & very elastic. When mixed, scrape into greased loaf pan, smooth top with warm water, if you wish. Place in warmed oven to rise for 20 to 25 minutes, or until dough is ½” from top of pan. Remove from oven. Heat oven to 375°. Bake loaf for 45 minutes. Cool pan on its side, on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loosen. Remove loaf from pan, finish cooling on rack.

     *Notes: You can use a stand mixer with dough hooks to mix the batter, if you have one ~ they work great! Be sure to wash your dishes right away too, as the batter hardens to a cement-like finish. Not fun to clean when that happens!!  

Keep well & we'll see you next week, here in The Parlour!
 

Coming up next week: stop & smell the flowers...

Photos courtesy SD Jackson, PixAppeal Photography