I have been testing bread recipes lately. Here are 3 different ones that each have their own use onboard Luna Sea.
A few disclaimers:
I don’t bother with trying to get my oven up to a specific temp. It is basically off or on. And thanks to the directions in the first recipe, I decided to try baking bread, in general, without pre-heating the oven. I just turn it on whenever the dough is ready to go in the oven. It has worked so far…
While cooking, I rarely measure. While baking I ALWAYS measure. Baking is science. Don’t try to cheat. You will likely have trouble. You may eventually get to where you can eyeball a tsp, and that is great. But if you struggle while making bread, go back to measuring and see if you can correct whatever mistakes you have made.
I am officially blogging via phone now. Our battery charging conundrum is limiting our power use, while we wait on more solar panels to arrive. But that is a whole other blog story. In the meantime, I apologize in advance for typos and few pics, but I am just happy to be able to post! #sorrynotsorry
Simple French Bread
I like this one because it is relatively quick and you do not have to preheat the oven. It also taught me that I do not have to pre- heat my oven. I just bake it until it is light golden brown (and sometimes I jam my thermometer in it and make sure it has reached 190 degrees, particularly on new recipes)
The down side to this is one that you have eat fast. Now is that really a down side? By day two it is basically only good for toast. Day three, well, let’s just say you won’t need any croutons in your salad…
I wish I had written down where this recipe came from, so that I could give proper credit, but I didn’t.
2.5 cups AP flour
2.25 tsp Rapid Rise yeast
.75 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degree f)
Olive oil to coat bowl before dough rises
Add yeast to warm water and set aside 5 min.
Whisk dry ingredients to bowl. Mix thoroughly.
Make well in center of flour, puor in water and mix thoroughly by hand – just until combined. Knead by hand (I leave it in the bowl to do this) until smooth and tacky.
Form into ball, coat dough ball and bowl with thin layer of olive oil. Cover with towl and set in warm place (the counter in our galley is plenty warm…) to double in size.
Punch down. Just what it sounds like. Smack the crap out of it to knock the air out. Then form into a loaf or whatever shape will fit in your oven. I had to make two seperate small loaves to fit in my baby oven.
Slide into cool oven. Bake 375 30 minutes – or until golden brown. (Or whatever temp your oven chooses, if you are on a boat)
Stovetop English Muffins
This recipe is from Van Sant’s Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South (or something like that) These do not need refrigeration – they can just be stored in an air- tight container on the counter. Bonus – they are also good for multiple days!
1 c Warm Water
1 T dry yeast
1 tsp Sugar or honey
2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil
3 c flour (can add up to 1 c whole wheat)
Put yeast in water and let sit a few minutes
Combine dry ingredients and then gradually add water/yeast mixture.
Roll out 1/3″ and cut into 2 1/2″ circles. I just use a plastic cup. Lay on surface spri kled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Allow to rise 2 hours – until doubled.
Pan cook 5 to 7 minutes each side. Split with fork and toast to serve. Yum.
Peasant Bread
This is my favorite for daily bread. It makes 2 good sized loaves and lasts for days, especially if you can refrigerate it. It is always best straight out of the oven, but you don’t need to toast it on day 3. It is still delicious and moist!
4c AP flour
2 tsp salt
2 c lukewarm water
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp rapid rise yeast (if you use regular, do as above and add to water and sugar for about 15 minutes before using)
2 T room temp butter – for pans
Whisk all dry ing together. stir in liquid until the flour absorbs all the liquid. Cover bowl with tea towel and let rise at least one hour.
Butter pans. Punch down dough and divide between two pans. I use one loaf pan and one cookie sheet. This results in one loaf and one round. We eat the round instantly and save the loaf for sandwiches. Let rise 20 minutes.
Turn on oven (375 if you have an option). Bake until golden brown – roughly 30 minutes. I have to rotate mine about halfway through.
Give them a try!
Let me know if you try any of the recipes, and let me know what you think. We enjoy all of them, and they each have their own uses.
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