Bread, Quickly

Bread, quickly? Am I kidding?

Any baker worth his/her salt knows that like fine wine, bread takes time. However, when you need a loaf in a pinch (no pun intended!), it is easy to whip out this simple bread in about 3 hours.

I adapted this recipe from "Howley White Bread" by Romi Perkins from her excellent cookbook, Game in Season.

As Romi describes it, "This is a fine-grained bread with a chewy texture akin to English muffins." I find it's just delicious toasted.

covertress' quick bread

Note: I use a professional 16"L x 5"W x 4"D bread pan, which is perfect for this double loaf recipe. You will need to cut the portions in half if using one traditional, smaller bread pan.

Ingredients:

2 packages dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons soft butter (nuking 20 seconds works)
2 3/4 cups warm water (stir above well)
6 1/2 cups flour (mix in 2 cups at a time)

Cover bowl with a damp towel and let it sit for one hour.

Uncover bowl, knead bread into a loaf, place in greased (Crisco) bread pan, cover with a damp towel and let sit for one hour more.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 50 minutes.

Note: The bake time may need to be adjusted if you live above sea level. The loaf should sound hollow when thumped if it is done.

Here comes the difficult part:

Allow the bread to cool before slicing. ;)

Bon Appétit!