Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I have a T&T bread recipe handed down from my MIL. It's a great recipe, and makes enough for 5 loaves, or in our house, 4 loaves and fry bread. What this post is about is how you can alter a great recipe to tailor it for a specific purpose. First, I'm potting the original recipe because it's a winner. It produces very tasty white bread. then, I'll give alterations, why, and how they affected the finished bread.
Original Mary Hennessey Bread Recipe:
Ingredients:
For 5 loaves
1 quart scalded milk
3 tbs. Yeast
2 tbs. Salt
7 tbs. cooking oil
1 cup honey or sugar
15 cups white bread flour
Warm liquid to tepid. You should be able to touch it without burning yourself. Add the sugar and yeast. Stir with a wire whisk to dissolve. Let sit until the yeast forms a layer of bubbles on top. Add the oil, then the salt and remaining ingredients. Stir until mixed with a heavy wooden spoon. The dough should be sticky. Pour another cup of flour over the dough and knead by hand until the flour is completely blended into the dough. If the dough still sticks heavily to your hands, add another half cup of flour and knead it into the dough. Continue this process until the dough is smooth and elastic, and doesn't stick to your hands. Then knead another five minutes to develop the gluten.
Lift the dough from the bowl and rub softened unsalted butter over the surface. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a damp clean towel. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. When the dough has finished rising, fill greased loaf pans 3/4 full and let rise in lightly warmed oven (no more than 100 degrees F.) until again doubled. Remove from the oven and heat the oven to 350'F. Place pans in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Test bread by tapping lightly on top with a knuckle. If the loaf sounds hollow, it’s done. Remove from the oven and remove the bread from the loaf pans by inverting onto a cooling rack. Brush all sides with softened butter. Let cool completely before slicing and storing in plastic bags.
Alteration #1
Raise the bread as per the original instructions. punch it down, re-cover and let it rise a 2nd time. Transfer into loaf pans, filling each pan half full. Let rise until dough rises to th top of the loaf pan. Bake as per original instructions.
The 2nd rise allows the yeats to multiply further, giving the bread a stronger yeast flavor. Letting it rise only to the top of the loaf pan for the final rise creates a finer, more dense crumb. This bread is perfect to go with a hearty soup, chili, or to toast, butter, and dip in the yolk of a perfectly cooked egg. It can overwhelm the flavors of sandwich fillings, though it goes really well with PBS's.
Alteration #2
Substitute /3 of the flour with your choice of other flour, such as buckwheat, spelt, or whatever grains you want to use in your multi-grai bead.
Alteration #3
Change the white bread flour to whole wheat bead flour. Add and extra 1/2 cup water to the dough to make it just a bit stickyer. The loaf will be light, flavorful, and moist.
ze.
Alteration #4
After the 1rst rise, place the dough onto a parchment paper om
lined sheet pan and shape into a long torpedo shape. Let rise until doubled in size. Brushe with butter and bake. Half way through the cooking time, again brush with water to form a hearty crust. The laof will be like a French, or Italian loaf.
Altertion #5
Let dough rise. Remove enough dough for 1 loaf and roll to /2 inch thick. Cut rounds out of the dough with a large, clean tomato sauce can to make something the size of an English Muffin. Heat a skillet over medium heat after the rounds have doubled in height. Spread corn meal over skillet and place the dough rounds onto the skillet.l Cook over medium heat until browned on one side. Fli and repeat. Let coll and fork split your English muffins.
Alteration #6
Add 1/4 sup crushed garlic, minced onion, 3 tbs. rubbed sage, 2 tbs, ground, dried Thyme, and 3 tbs. ground black pepper to the flour before making it into a doough. After baking, let cook and cut into cubes for bred dressing, or save to put turkey on for a great sandwich the day after Thanksgiving.
And all of this started with one, good eccipe.
Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Original Mary Hennessey Bread Recipe:
Ingredients:
For 5 loaves
1 quart scalded milk
3 tbs. Yeast
2 tbs. Salt
7 tbs. cooking oil
1 cup honey or sugar
15 cups white bread flour
Warm liquid to tepid. You should be able to touch it without burning yourself. Add the sugar and yeast. Stir with a wire whisk to dissolve. Let sit until the yeast forms a layer of bubbles on top. Add the oil, then the salt and remaining ingredients. Stir until mixed with a heavy wooden spoon. The dough should be sticky. Pour another cup of flour over the dough and knead by hand until the flour is completely blended into the dough. If the dough still sticks heavily to your hands, add another half cup of flour and knead it into the dough. Continue this process until the dough is smooth and elastic, and doesn't stick to your hands. Then knead another five minutes to develop the gluten.
Lift the dough from the bowl and rub softened unsalted butter over the surface. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a damp clean towel. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. When the dough has finished rising, fill greased loaf pans 3/4 full and let rise in lightly warmed oven (no more than 100 degrees F.) until again doubled. Remove from the oven and heat the oven to 350'F. Place pans in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Test bread by tapping lightly on top with a knuckle. If the loaf sounds hollow, it’s done. Remove from the oven and remove the bread from the loaf pans by inverting onto a cooling rack. Brush all sides with softened butter. Let cool completely before slicing and storing in plastic bags.
Alteration #1
Raise the bread as per the original instructions. punch it down, re-cover and let it rise a 2nd time. Transfer into loaf pans, filling each pan half full. Let rise until dough rises to th top of the loaf pan. Bake as per original instructions.
The 2nd rise allows the yeats to multiply further, giving the bread a stronger yeast flavor. Letting it rise only to the top of the loaf pan for the final rise creates a finer, more dense crumb. This bread is perfect to go with a hearty soup, chili, or to toast, butter, and dip in the yolk of a perfectly cooked egg. It can overwhelm the flavors of sandwich fillings, though it goes really well with PBS's.
Alteration #2
Substitute /3 of the flour with your choice of other flour, such as buckwheat, spelt, or whatever grains you want to use in your multi-grai bead.
Alteration #3
Change the white bread flour to whole wheat bead flour. Add and extra 1/2 cup water to the dough to make it just a bit stickyer. The loaf will be light, flavorful, and moist.
ze.
Alteration #4
After the 1rst rise, place the dough onto a parchment paper om
lined sheet pan and shape into a long torpedo shape. Let rise until doubled in size. Brushe with butter and bake. Half way through the cooking time, again brush with water to form a hearty crust. The laof will be like a French, or Italian loaf.
Altertion #5
Let dough rise. Remove enough dough for 1 loaf and roll to /2 inch thick. Cut rounds out of the dough with a large, clean tomato sauce can to make something the size of an English Muffin. Heat a skillet over medium heat after the rounds have doubled in height. Spread corn meal over skillet and place the dough rounds onto the skillet.l Cook over medium heat until browned on one side. Fli and repeat. Let coll and fork split your English muffins.
Alteration #6
Add 1/4 sup crushed garlic, minced onion, 3 tbs. rubbed sage, 2 tbs, ground, dried Thyme, and 3 tbs. ground black pepper to the flour before making it into a doough. After baking, let cook and cut into cubes for bred dressing, or save to put turkey on for a great sandwich the day after Thanksgiving.
And all of this started with one, good eccipe.
Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
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