There is little accomplishment for a mother than the praise that comes from a little elbow work and a lot of flour. It's like we have created a masterpiece and the praise follows. This is the joy of Wednesdays in the wintertime at my house.
That is my bread day. During breakfast time, the kids are munching on cereal and I am mixing dough for four loaves of bread in a bowl. Then I knead it and place half into two greased bowls and cover them, clean my floured area, throw the dishes into the dishwasher, and I am ready to head downstairs for school and let the yeast and gluten do its job.
Then, when we come up for lunch, the dough has risen enough. So, I get the kiddos lunch on the table and take my brief snack in before I call them up from the depths of the house to eat....(or I skip lunch and eat the abandoned food they leave behind!)
I divide the dough, knead it again, and roll it into some kind of loaf shape. So, there are three loaves of bread. The final will be rolled out and buttered, then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and rolled and sliced for cinnamon rolls. They all rise again till ready to bake...about 3 pm. This night, we have "Brinner"...or Breakfast/Dinner. Cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, coffee, milk, and sliced apples with cheese slices.....or bananas or orange slices...whatever is on hand.
So, here is the recipe for "4 In A Day Bread"
Ingredients:
12 cups bread flour (I recommend 'high bouncer' from GFS)
1/2 cup sugar
2 packets or 5 tsp. yeast (GFS sells ~a year supply in a pack for $4.50 or so)
1/4 cup veggie oil
2 TBS. salt
4 1/2 cups very warm water
Directions:
Put 4 cups flour in large mixing bowl. Put sugar, yeast, and salt into bowl and mix with flour. Measure the 4 1/2 cups very warm water and add oil to the water before adding to flour mixture. Add water all at once and stir to mix. Then add 4 more cups flour in, stirring well after each addition. The last 4 cups will be more difficult to work in, so go one cup at a time till the flour will not seem to take any more and roll onto a floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes, or until soft and combined well. Prepare 2 large bowls with 1-2 Tbs. oil rubbed around the inside of the bowl. Split dough in half and place one equal dough round in each pan, turning once to cover with oil. Let rest as long as it takes to double. Cover with oil-sprayed plastic wrap to keep humidity in. (Dough is done when fingerprint stays without bouncing back.) Then, spray 4 loaf pans with cooking spray. Punch dough in each bowl (that is my favorite!) and divide each bowl's dough in half. Then knead that dough approximately 40 times on a lightly floured surface into a loaf and place each into a loaf pan. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap (I cut the ones from the bowls earlier in half and reuse.) and allow to rise again for 2-3 hours. Till about 1 inch over the top of the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Tap on bottom to test doneness. (Should sound hollow.)
Cool for about 1-2 hours (if you can wait..LOL!) and slice thinly. Place slices in gallon freezer bags and freeze until about 4 hours or the night before needed and take out to thaw on the counter. Good for about 3 days fresh/after thawed.
Cinnamon rolls: That 4th loaf should be rolled out after the 2nd kneading to 12"x 8" or so. Lightly butter and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over butter. Roll from one shorter side to the other and pinch end where dough stops very well to keep from 'blooming' during second rising. Slice log in half, then each half in half until you have 8-1" slices. Placed on a greased 9x13 inch pan and allow to rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until desired brownness has been reached. Some like them a touch underdone, but 25 minutes is about perfect. Cool.
We mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar, a few drops vanilla, and milk to desired consistency (1 tsp-1 TBS). Stir and drizzle over rolls. Enjoy.
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