Four Loaves of Bread
- 3 lbs flour
- 1 pint scalded milk
- 1 pint water
- 2 tsps salt
- 1 cake compressed yeast
- 4 Tbsps cold water
Dissolve the yeast in 4 Tbsps of cold water. When the water and milk have cooled, add the dissolved yeast, salt and 6 cups flour. Beat this vigorously for approximately ten minutes (be patient, you rascal). Add 5 cups of flour and turn out on the board. Use the last cup of flour while kneading. Knead until the dough will not stick to the board and the dough is stretchy. Set in a warm location to rise up for 3 hours. It should increase to double the bulk in the process of leavening. Dust the board lightly with flour. Knead again, cut and put into 4 pans. Let it rise (rise up!) for about an hour. Bake with love for 35-40 minutes in a oven heated to 350F at 350°F.
*Always warm the flour during the cold season or dry it out. Temperature for bread raising is 75°F.
*Always warm the flour during the cold season or dry it out. Temperature for bread raising is 75°F.
Submitted by Sep 6, 2009
15 min
30 min
45 min
Yeast
- Professional bakers often use fresh compressed cake yeast which is more predictable and easy to dissolve
- Rapid-rise yeast has a different baking behavior from other types of yeast and will have a flavor that is more bland and texture that is more simple
- Active dry yeast and instant yeast can be used interchangably
- Test your yeast before baking: Add to a small cup of warm water and then add a Tbsp of sugar - If it foams, it's ready
- Yeast and the leavening process create the air pockets and sponge-like texture in bread
- Yeast activates the fermentation process, turning carbohydrates into gas (carbon dioxide) and alcohol
- Yeast is a single tiny cell nearly the same size as a human red blood cell
- Yeast is a type of fungus in the same family as the mushroom