Really!
There's something about the smell of yeast, or the act of kneading dough that makes me feel like I belong in my kitchen. That may sound odd... but it is totally true!
So the other day, I tried a new kind of bread: Feather Bread.
Isn't that a weird name for bread? Apparently the moniker stuck because the baked loaves are deceptively light. After seeing the recipe, I was intrigued... so I pulled the ingredients out of my cupboard/'fridge and got to work!
I started by dumping some (carefully measured) bread flour into the mixing bowl...
Along with two packages of yeast...
Salt...
And sugar. (I was feeling impish and tried taking pictures of my ingredients in motion- sorry about that!)
I attached the bowl to my mixer, and used the paddle to incorporate the ingredients while I filled up a measuring cup with hot water...
Which I then poured into the mixing bowl.
This recipe was very specific about how long each part of the preparation should last, so I whipped out my handy-dandy kitchen timer. So what if it's missing the plastic cover and is covered with remnants of past baking experiments- it still works!
After two minutes of mixing, I added some shortening.
At this point, I was instructed to knead the dough for 8 minutes (see- the timer is raring to go back there).
Before I move on, I have to show you the best part about this recipe. And mere words won't do it justice... so I took a picture of the recipe. Check out the sentence in the middle of this photo:
That's right- my bread dough should be "soft and warm like a baby's bottom". I was cracking up at this point, because after I read that I couldn't think about anything else! So, once I was done, I place the baby's-bottom-dough into a lightly greased bowl to rise.
After the dough had doubled in volume...
It was ready to be shaped.
I kneaded the air out briefly...
And shaped the dough into 2 logs. (Technically the loaves should be longer, like baguettes... but I have a mini-stove so I modified things a bit.)
I placed a piece of wax paper over the top of the dough, and let it rise again.
Once the loaves had risen, I grabbed a knife...
Sliced the top of the loaves...
And brushed them with a bit of egg white.
After a little while in the oven, I pulled these golden loaves out of the oven.
I am so pleased with this recipe! The texture of the bread is phenomenal- light, yet moist!
If you'd like to try this bread in your kitchen, here's the recipe:Feather Bread
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
2 packages yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Place 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl before stirring to blend. Pour in hot water, and mix for 2 minutes. Add the shortening in pieces, mixing until combined. Add the rest of the flour until desired dough consistency is reached. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic- "the dough will be warm and soft like a baby's bottom". Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour. Knead air bubbles out of dough for 30 seconds and divide into two pieces. Shape into loaves on baking sheet, and cover with waxed paper to rise again for 45 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees 20 minutes before baking. Cut tops of loaves with a knife and brush with egg white mixture. Bake for 25 minutes, until loaves are light brown in color. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful day!
