Today two of Ed's nephews came over to learn to bake bread. I don't know what they thought of the morning, but I sure had fun!Ed has been encouraging me to hold a bread baking class. But I am sort of embarrassed. Doesn't it sound self-promoting to offer to teach something? I suppose that is what I'm doing here on the blog but I can pretend no one is reading and I'm just writing all this for my daughter.
Anyway, I was thrilled when his nephews said they wanted to learn to bake bread over summer vacation! Any excuse to bake bread! And they even did the dishes!
When I asked what they wanted to learn to bake, they said Macaroni Grill's Peasant bread. A quick google search brought numerous recipe ideas. I combined a few recipes to make this version. Whether this is close to the actual bread at Macaroni Grill, I don't know, but it is tasty and very easy to make. The perfect bread for beginners. We also made pizza dough and miracle bread.
If you were at Melody's talk on Monday, this is the peasant bread you had!
Rosemary Peasant Bread - 1 T. yeast
- 2 c. warm water
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 4 c. flour
- 1-2 tsp fresh Rosemary plus more for topping
Dissolve yeast in the warm water and sugar. Add flour, salt, garlic powder, oil, and rosemary and stir until blended. Rest for five minutes. Stir again and add more flour if needed. Dough will be sticky and barely manageable. Do not Knead!
Move dough into greased bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size.
Remove dough from bowl. With oiled hands, form into loaves and place on greased pan. Spray top with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise another hour.
Brush each round with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with more rosemary and coarse salt. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.
Cool slightly, then tear off a piece, dip in olive oil or melted butter and enjoy!
Variation: We like it with some whole wheat flour substituted for the white.
Gina,
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of a bread baking class is wonderful. We did some on Wed. evenings at church and it is alot of fun.
I always have trouble with the yeast growing. Thanks for the wonderful blog.
Carlene
Bet this would be good with some Durum flour. Might need a little gluten then, too.
ReplyDeleteGod knows your heart. Teaching is a good thing when you help someone in a good way. Jesus did it.
~Liz
I think I know what you mean. If someone asked me to teach a class, that would be a lot different than offering to teach one. But I'm an awful teacher, and you are probably not. ;P
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is so timely- we love rosemary bread and my mother has an enormous rosemary shrub. I'm always looking for ways to put it to use.
~Monica
I wish I lived closer and I would definitely come to your bread baking class. I don't think it is self promotion to teach a class because you genuinely want to pass on your skills to others. And your blog encourages people to try new things and different recipes. I always enjoy reading it.
ReplyDeleteI think teaching is a good idea. There are many ladies who don't know how to make bread and would love to learn, just like your nephews. A friend of mine came over not too long ago to learn to bake bread. I only make one type of bread, but they seem to like it. It's not a pride issue, though I guess you could get into that trap. Seems that if you had some ladies that would like to learn to bake bread, it might be an opportunity to share spiritual things with them as well.
ReplyDeleteI'd definately come to a baking class if I lived close enough.
Happy baking.
Mrs. D
I think I'll go bake myself some bread!!!!
ReplyDeleteTeaching is a gift, don't be afraid to use it! I've been attempting to teach my girls how to make bread. I'm learning patience (I hope) and thy're learning how to bake(I hope).
You asked... "Doesn't it sound self-promoting to offer to teach something?" I think it depends on your motivation. Another way to look at it is "Isn't it selfish to keep knowledge to myself?" You are doing great. Keep on sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a silly question, but what is the purpose of letting the dough rest? How does that change the end result? I just found your blog while looking for this bread recipe, which I have made but misplaced. I'm looking forward to reading all of it!
ReplyDeleteChristy-
DeleteAllowing the dough to rest gives time for the flour to absorb the liquid. This helps keep you from adding too much flour. This rest time is especially important for whole grain bread. A rest time also relaxes the dough so that you won't need to knead the dough as long.
Gina
Gina,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I always wondered why my whole wheat bread was dry. I'll have to give it another try. I made this recipe for dinner with another family last night, and it disappeared quickly.
Christy
I have to take a meal to sick folks tomorrow, and I thought I'd try this to accompany fettucine alfredo. It is delicious!
ReplyDelete