Milk and Honey Bread
Sometimes I’m just bored with all food. It frequently happens after a summer’s worth of grilling and when roasting a turkey or making a hearty stew doesn’t seem right yet.
Also, the tomatoes are coming in now. Real tomatoes. Red, red ones. Aromatic, juicy, sweet, oozing seeds tomatoes. Late August tomatoes.
Then, for dinner, at least one night, I can make tomato sandwiches. Nothing special. I have no need for $40 olive oil or rare, aged Balsamic vinegar. No chili pepper additions. No teriyaki or hummus. No fusion version.
Just white bread, mayo and sliced tomatoes.
Nothing more. Life is sweet.
Packaged (not soft white) or bakery white bread will do. But if you like to bake and have a few moments, here’s a recipe for a spectacular bread that measures up to a good tomato.
Milk and Honey White Bread
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 cups all purpose flour, approximately
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons softened butter or vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons honey
In a small bowl, mix the yeast, water, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon flour. Stir, set aside and let rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the remaining flour and salt. Add the eggs, butter, milk and honey. Add the yeast mixture. Blend ingredients thoroughly, then knead using the kneading hook, for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic (or knead by hand for about 10 minutes). Add more flour as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky. (Dough may be made in a food processor). Cover the bowl of dough and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until doubled. Lightly oil a 9” loaf pan. Place the dough in the pan. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.
Makes one