This week’s Culinary Corner recipe comes courtesy of my Brother-in-Law’s Mom. Although I’m a little hazy on the specifics concerning the origin of the recipe and where and when it was awarded a blue-ribbon, I can personally attest to both the simplicity of the approach and the quality of the final product.

Also, while I did make use of our Kitchen Aide stand mixer, the original recipe is all by hand and so that is what I’ll share here,

Ingredients

7 Cups of all-purpose flour

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 packets quick rising yeast

2 ½ cups water

1 tbsp butter

1 egg

Recipe

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. I usually use a whisk but a fork will also work. While you are whisking the ingredients together, place the tablespoon of butter and 2 ½ cups of water together and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. When the water is done heating, stir the solution to make sure the butter is completely melted.

Mix the water into the flour mixture and begin combining all the ingredients together with your hands. Once the mixture begins to set up into a ball of dough, remove it from the bowl, lightly powder your counter and begin kneading the dough. You will have to knead the dough for about ten minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl that has been very lightly oiled. I use about a tablespoon of olive oil on the interior of the bowl in order to prevent the dough mixture from sticking. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to sit in a warm place for 1 hour. During this time your dough will more than double in size.

After an hour, remove the dough from the bowl, place onto the counter, again you will need to flour the counter, and cut into two even sections. Place one half back into the bowl and begin rolling out the other half. If you don’t have a rolling pin, an old wine bottle will also work just fine. Once you have rolled the dough thin, begin at one end and roll the dough up to form a loaf. Repeat this with the other half of the original dough ball.

Place both loaves onto a lightly greased cooking sheet, make four slits across the top of each loaf, cover once more and allow to rise again. This will take another 45 minutes to an hour.

Crack an egg into a bowl and scramble it well. Brush the loaves with the egg wash and place into an oven preheated to 375 degrees. The bread should be ready in about 30-35 minutes.

And there you have it, delicious homemade bread! Please note, the loaves will need to be refrigerated or frozen as there are no preservatives used in this recipe. We have found that the bread keeps well for about a week in the fridge and up to a month in the freezer.

Enjoy and, as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.