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Showing posts with label easy bread recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easy bread recipe. Show all posts

DIY No-Knead BREAD MIX: The frugal farm girl's ready-made mix series.

Ready-made mixes: Homemade goodness made simple, one jar at a time.



There's nothing quite so homey as the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. But are you someone who shakes in your boots when it comes to working with yeast? Yeast can be temperamental. That must be why, when I was growing up, my mom would always hush the kids, or make sure we didn't slam doors when she was baking bread, lest we make her loaves fall. 

Now, with a family of my own, I enjoy making bread--activating the yeast, working in the flour, getting a work-out from kneading. But I'll admit, though I enjoy the traditional bread making process, I also like simplicity and saving time. That's why I keep several varieties of No-Knead Bread Mix in my pantry. Mixes eliminate half the work of putting bread on the table. Just mix, let rise, and bake. Easy. No gathering dry ingredients, no flour everywhere, no kneading. No-Knead Bread Mix is a smart, practical way to keep fresh baked bread coming out of the oven each day. (Plus, this bread mix is extremely frugal, as each one costs under $1 to make).

Today, I'm going to show you how to make No-Knead Bread Mix, then how to turn your mix into a loaf of delicious homemade bread. Are you ready? Then come meet me in the kitchen and let's get started!

 How to make Old Fashioned White No-Knead Bread Mix...

INGREDIENTS

 4 1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour; could be white or whole wheat, or a mix of both)
2 teaspoons quick-rise yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

 INSTRUCTIONS

 In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Store mix in a quart-size jar, or another air tight container in your pantry. Use within 4 months. (Affiliate link leads to a set of 12 smooth surface jars for easy labeling, though the description on Amazon.com seems to be for only 1 jar). 

 How to turn your mix into bread...

BREAD INGREDIENTS 

 1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons melted butter (optional)

 BREAD INSTRUCTIONS

 Step 1: Mix it up. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the mix with the water and vinegar. Using a dough hook, run the mixer on low-medium speed, mixing just until a ball of dough forms. 

Step 2:  Let it rise. Place the ball of dough in a large, oiled bowl. Rub a bit of oil over the surface of the dough, then cover with a clean towel. Leave it to sit in a quiet place that's at least 70 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until dough doubles in size. 


Step 3: Punch dough down and form a loaf. When the dough is doubled in size, punch it down gently. Spray a 9 X 5 loaf pan generously with cooking spray. Form the dough into an oblong loaf shape and tuck the ends under. Place it in the loaf pan, cover with the towel again, and let it rest for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Step 4: Butter and bake. Just prior to baking, slit the top of the loaf with a sharp knife about a 1/4 inch deep, to allow steam to vent. Brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt over the top.


Step 5: Bake and enjoy the homey-good aroma. Place the bread pan on the center rack in your oven and bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. When done, the top should be golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then turn the loaf out and allow to cool entirely before cutting to serve.
Recipe adapted from Melissa K. Norris

Don't forget your FREE PRINTABLE LABELS! Each mix post in this series comes with a link to a free downloadable page of 8 labels and instructions to attach to your homemade mixes (today, for 8 instruction labels, you'll need to print the page twice, as the instructions were longer and I could only fit 4 per page). These labels are simple and easy to read, and done to look a bit retro (which I love) with their lettering and color scheme. You can print your labels onto white card-stock, cut them out, and use double-sided tape to stick them to your jars of mixes. Or, keep it super simple and print your labels onto this sticker paper by Avery. Just cut them out and stick them right to your jars. Enjoy!



WANT TO SEE MORE POSTS LIKE THIS?

LET'S CHAT...What strategies do you use to fit bread making into your life? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
Until next time...

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."


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CRANBERRY APPLE WALNUT BREAD: Good enough for dessert, yet loaded with healthy ingredients!


Today, I felt inspired. Partly by the pathetic, tiny bruised little apples my husband brought home after going grocery shopping for me (bless his heart). I wanted to redeem them (or redeem my husband), by finding a use for his sad little apples. And partly because I was feeling better after being in bed for several weeks recovering from back surgery. I felt like baking! I'd create a farm girl original! I know, I know, there's nothing new under the sun, and variations of the bread I turned out have undoubtedly been made before. But what I made was my own concoction from scratch. It was beautiful and made the house smell so good! Then to hear my husband say, "Honey, this is the best bread you've ever made." (And he meant it)! Well, I knew I had to share my recipe with you. 

I gave my bread an original name: Cranberry Apple Walnut Bread. But don't let the boring name fool you. With it's topping of cinnamon, brown sugar and walnuts, this bread is good enough for dessert. It's the perfect sweet loaf: moist, but not heavy, and with a cake-like texture. But it's also guilt-free! It contains healthy ingredients like fresh apples, applesauce, Greek yogurt, cranberries and walnuts. I hope you'll give it a try. After all, it's the best bread ever! (According to my husband, that is).

So what do you say? Wanna give it a go? Well then, grab your apron and let's get started! 


INGREDIENTS

Bread Ingredients
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts 
3/4 cup grated fresh apple, soaked in lemon water as described below
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup half and half
1/4 cup avocado oil (or another oil)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
Cooking spray

Topping ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts 
1 teaspoon avocado oil (or another oil)

Lemon Water to Soak Apples
2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lemon juice (bottled is fine)

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X5 bread pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 2: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level with a knife. In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together to combine. 

Step 3: In a separate small bowl, combine the ingredients for the lemon water. Using a grater, peel and grate 2 apples until you have 3/4 cup. As you grate, immediately place the apple shavings in the lemon water. This will help preserve their taste. Allow the apples to remain in the water for about 2 minutes. 

Step 4: In another small bowl, combine the cinnamon, brown sugar, walnuts and oil for the topping, working the oil throughout the mixture with a fork until it's well combined. Set aside.

Step 5: In a different bowl, whisk together the yogurt, half and half, oil, applesauce, and egg. Strain the apples from the lemon water and add them to wet mixture.  

Step 6: Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until moist. Add in the chopped walnuts and dried cranberries. Avoid over-mixing, or your bread may turn out heavy and overly dense. Your dough will look wet and sticky. Pour the dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon.

Step 7: Spread the cinnamon topping over the surface of the bread dough and pat it down. Spray the surface of the topping with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minute. Then turn the loaf out onto the wire rack to cool completely before cutting to serve. 

 Makes approximately 12 servings.

 FREE PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD
(You'll receive a PDF of a nearly 5X7 recipe card that will print out nice and clear!) 
(To see all the recipe cards available on this blog, CLICK HERE.)

Let's chat...What's your favorite thing to bake from scratch? Where did you get the recipe--family heirloom, a friend, made it up yourself, or from a book or website? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

 Until next time...

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm Girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."
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