Buttermilk Ranch Sandwich Bread

When I saw this bread, I knew I had to try it! Unfortunately, I forgot to note where I got it from!! I altered it slightly to suit my tastes, but this is what I did. It's delicious. The herbs are a light addition to the bread flavor-wise but oh so pretty to look at once the bread is cut. Definitely a good bread!

1⅓ cup buttermilk (1⅓ cup water + ⅓ cup powdered buttermilk)

3 tbsp butter

4 cup flour

1½ tsp salt

2 tbsp granulated sugar

4½ tsp yeast

1 tsp dried dill (or 1 tbsp fresh)

1 tsp dried parsley (or 1 tbsp fresh)

1. Heat buttermilk and butter in a small saucepan set over low heat until butter is melted. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, or until temperature is between 120-130°.
2. Add 2½ cups of the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and herbs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
3. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix until it forms a wet dough.
4. Add remaining flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough clears the sides and no longer sticks to your fingers.
5. Continue kneading by hand until dough is smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes.
6. Form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl.
7. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
8. Gently punch down dough and knead a few times to bring it back into a ball.
9. Roll dough out into a rough 9x15-inch rectangle.
10. Starting at one of the 9-inch ends, roll dough into a log.
11. Place in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan, cover, and let rise again until doubled, 45-60 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 375° for the last 20 minutes of the rise.
13. Bake bread until top is deep golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped, 30-35 minutes.
14. Remove bread from pan immediately and let cool on a wire rack.

Molasses Bread

adapted from Bernard Clayton

This bread intrigued me, but it was originally a wheat bread which I wasn't in the mood for. It was also originally a double loaf recipe, which since I was experimenting didn't seem like a good idea. So I switched out the wheat for white and halved the recipe. It's yummy, but as expected it doesn't have much of a molasses taste.

1 cup hot milk (120°-130°)

2 tbsp molasses

½ tbsp salt

2½ cups bread flour

2¼ tsp yeast

1½ tbsp shortening, room temperature

1 medium (8"-x-4") loaf pan, greased

1. Into a mixing or mixer bowl pour the milk, molasses, salt, and 1 cup bread flour.
2. Stir to form a thin batter.
3. Sprinkle on the yeast and add the shortening.
4. Beat for 75 strokes with a wooden spoon.
5. Gradually work in the remaining flour ¼ cup at a time.
6. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with a strong push-turn-fold motion. If the dough sticks to the work surface or your fingers, dust lightly with flour. Knead in this fashion for 8 minutes.
7. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl.
8. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature until the dough has risen to about twice its original size, about 1 hour.
9. Punch down the dough and knead for 30 seconds to press out the bubbles that formed during rising.
10. Roll and press under the palms so that each piece is about half again as long as the pan and shaped somewhat like a fat French baguette.
11. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes or it will resist twisting.
12. Twist 2 or 3 times and place in the pan.
13. Cover the pan and leave at room temperature until the center of the dough has risen ½" to 1" above the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes.
14. Preheat the oven to 375° 20 minutes before baking.
15. Place the pan in the oven. When the loaf is dark brown and tapping the bottom yields a hard, hollow sound, they are done, about 35 to 45 minutes.
16. If the crust is soft and gives off a dull thud, return to the oven, without the pans, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
17. Remove the loaf from the oven and turn the hot bread onto a wire rack to cool before slicing.

Braided Peasant Loaf

adapted from Ethel Scheer 
 

In the original recipe, Ethel Scheer has you cook the bread on a cookie sheet, but ever since I made the brioche loaf, I like to bake my braided bread in loaf pans. If that doesn't float your boat, go the traditional route with a little cornmeal on your cookie sheet. She also brushed the bread with an egg white wash, which I've never been crazy about, so I skip it. It makes a crunchy on the outside-airy on the inside loaf! :) It's awesome fresh out of the oven!

One of the things that I thought was crazy about this bread is that it has this wild push-down method during the rising that just doesn't seem like something "peasants" would have time to do. It's not a big deal and definitely intriguing.

3½ cup bread flour

1 tsp salt

4½ tsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1½ cup hot water (120°-130°)

2 tbsp vegetable shortening

1. In a mixing bowl measure 2 cups flour and sprinkle in the salt, yeast, and sugar.
2. Pour in the hot water and add the shortening.
3. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes to make a smooth batter.
4. Measure in additional flour, ½ cup at a time, stirring it into the wet batter.
5. When the dough has formed a mass, work it with the hands, with sprinkles of flour to control the stickiness, until it can be lifted from the bowl and placed on a floured work surface.
6. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. By hand, use a strong push-turn-fold motion, occasionally lifting up the dough and crashing it down, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and feels alive under your hands. Note: This bread calls for an unusual treatment of the dough for it to be pushed down into the bowl every 10 minutes for 1 hour. 
7. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and put aside at room temperature.
8. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When the bell rings, punch down the dough with your fingertips; turn it over. Cover. Repeat for the rest of the hour.
9. After the last push-down, cover the bowl and leave to rise until double in bulk, about 30 minutes.
10. Punch down the dough and turn onto the floured work surface. Divide the dough in half with a knife or dough blade cut one half into 3 equal parts.
11. To braid, roll each of the 3 small pieces into a strand about 16" long.
12. Lay them side by side and braid loosely, beginning in the middle; turn the dough around and finish the braid.
13. Repeat for the second dough half.
14. Place the braided dough in a loaf pan, cover, and allow to double in bulk, about 30 minutes.
15. Preheat the oven to 400° about 20 minutes before baking.
16. Place in the oven to bake until a light golden brown and crisp, about 35 to 40 minutes.
17. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing on a baking rack to cool.