Bread Hello Amy thank you to all

[Guest guest]

I will gather all my ingreients and try this soon. Not sure if I

have time this weekend but I'm excited to see if I can actually make

a real loaf of bread.

Thank you again for taking time to post this for me. Everyone in

here in beyond helpful and all the recipes, tips, links and

information is greatly appreciated.

Kenia

 

 

 

 

, " Amy " <sandpiperhiker>

wrote:

>

> , " mistressofthedishes "

> <mistressofthedishes> wrote:

> >

> >

> > I like all bread. Any recipe you think is good for a beginner.

> > Thanks Amy!

>

> This one is delicious and easy, and beautiful to look at too. I

> usually use a little less oil, and a little less salt (try half of

each).

>

> Sweet Pepper Bread (Pane ai Peperoni) from " The Italian Baker " by

> Carol Field, with my notes mixed in

>

> makes 2 loaves

>

> 1 large sweet red pepper

> 2 tbsp olive oil

> 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

> 1 1/4 c warm water (about 110* seems to work well; over 115 or so

will

> kill the yeast, too cold and it will be very slow to rise)

> 3 3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour

> 2 tsp salt

>

> Broil the pepper until blackened all over (see Donna's techniques in

> the files, too). Cut into wide strips; remove the seeds and the pull

> off the blackened skin. Roughly chop the pepper and saute in the

oil

> for a few minutes (do not brown).

>

> Stir the yeast into the water in a large mixing bowl; let stand

until

> creamy, about ten minutes (this is called proofing the yeast - it

> proves the yeast is stil alive - if you get no bubbles, don't bother

> until you get fresh yeast). Stir in the pepper with the oil. Mixthe

> flour and salt and and stir 1 cup at a time into the yeast mixture.

> When the dough has roughly come together, knead** on a lightly

floured

> surface until soft and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.

>

> First Rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, flip over to coat to

> with a thin film, and cover with plastic wrap (I use a 6-qt

rubbermaid

> food container with a lid). Let rise until doubled, about an hour.

> (My rubbermaid thing has volume marks on the side, so it's easy to

see

> when it's doubled. Also, doubling time will vary depending on how

> warm or cool your kitchen is.)

>

> Shaping and second rise: Punch the dough down on a floured surface

> and knead it briefly. Cut the dough in half. Shape each half into

a

> long round log, then curve one end so it looks like a J. Place the

> loaves on an oiled baking sheet, cover with a clean towel (or I

spray

> the top of the loaves with oil and setplastci wrap _loosely_ over)

and

> let rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour) (When rolling into a

> log, try to make the surface of the log have some tension on it;

roll

> with some good pressure.)

>

> Baking: About 20 minutes before you think the last rise will finish,

> preheat the oven to 450*F. (If you have a baking stone, put it in

> beofre you heat the oven, and sprinkle it with cornmeal just before

> you put the loaves on it.) Place the loaves in the oven and reduce

> the heat to 400*F. Bake for about 35 minutes. The crust is best if

> you have a clean spray bottle with water - spray the surface of the

> bread a couple of times during the first 10 minutes of baking.

>

> Cool completely on a wire rack.

>

> **The kneading motion varies with people, but what I use:

> Look at the ball of dough in front of you (on a floured surface of

> course). Grab the top part of the dough (the bit on the far side of

> the counter, and pull it up over the bottom part (the bit nearest

> you). Push down on this pile of dough, fairly hard. Rotate the

dough

> one quarter turn and repeat. You do this until the dough is evenly

> textured, doesn't have too many splits in the outer " skin " , and is

> soft but not a blob. The kneading times in recipes are guidelines

> more than rules - if you just punch at it randomly it will take much

> longer!

>

>

>

> (easiest if your counter is lower than average, or step up on

> something if you have a tougher dough like whole wheat).

>