White Batter Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water, blend in ginger and 1 T sugar. Let stand in warm place until mix is bubbly (about 15 minutes).
• Stir in remaining sugar, salt, milk and oil.
• Mix in flour one cup at a time. Place dough in well greased 2 lb coffee can. Let rise until doubled in size. Bake 60 minutes or until top is brown.

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water, in a large bowl.
• Add half the flour, and the sugar, salt,and shortning.
• Blend at low speed, then beat 2 minutes at med speed.
• Mix in remaining flour by hand.
• Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Stir the batter hard for 30 seconds.
• Spread into 2 8in greased loaf pans (batter will be sticky).
• Let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
• Bake at 325* for about 45 minutes, until golden brown and done.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Stir sugar into yeast/water mixture, let mixture sit until tiny bubbles start to form.
• Add butter, salt and half the flour.
• With electric mixer on medium speed, beat batter for 2 minutes.
• Add remaining flour, stirring by hand (or on low speed) until well blended and smooth (batter will be very thick, like a very soft dough).
• Cover bowl with a tea towel, and let the batter rise in a warm draft free place for 30-60 minutes or until doubled.
• Beat the batter by hand, about 25 strokes (the dough will deflate).
• Spread batter evenly into a greased 8x3 or 9x4 inch loaf pan.
• Smooth out the top of the loaf by patting it with your floured hand.
• Cover pan, and let batter rise again (about 30-60 minutes) until dough has reached the top of the pan.
• Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when the top is lightly tapped.
• Remove from pan.
• For a softer crust, brush the top of the hot loaf with butter.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Bread slices best when it is cooled.

Steps:

• Mix together shortening, sugar, salt, yeast, and 1 1/5 cups flour. Add warm water and beat by hand about 300 strokes, or 3 minutes, with an electric mixer. Add remaining flour, scraping bowl often, and mix all together until smooth.
• Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled in volume.
• Stir dough down gently, and spoon into a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (the batter should be sticky). Pat down with floured hands to help shape. Cover again, and let rise for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake for about 45 minutes. Place on a cooling rack, and brush top with melted butter.

Steps:

• In a measuring cup, mix the sugar with a 1/2 cup of the warm water and yeast and let stand in a warm place for 5 minutes, or until frothy. If using fast-acting yeast, there is no need to let the mixture stand.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Rub in the butter, and make a well in the center. If using olive oil instead of butter, pour the olive oil into the remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Pour in the yeast mixture and most of the remaining water (and the olive oil, if using). Mix to a loose dough, adding the remaining water if needed, plus extra if necessary.
• Knead the mixture until the dough is smooth and springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. If kneading in an electric food mixer with a dough hook, 5 minutes is usually long enough.
• Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover the top tightly with plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm to rise, until it is doubled in size. This may take up to 2 or even (on a cold day) 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• When the dough has more than doubled in size, punch down, and knead again for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave to relax for 10 minutes before you begin to shape the bread.
• Shape the bread into loaves or rolls, and then transfer to a baking tray, and cover with a clean tea or dish towel. Allow to rise again in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, until the shaped dough has again doubled in size. When the dough has fully risen, it should leave a dent when you gently press the dough with your finger.
• The bread is full of air at this point, and therefore very fragile, gently brush the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if using, or dust lightly with flour for a rustic-looking loaf.
• Bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes for a loaf, depending on its size, or 10 to 15 minutes for rolls, Turn the heat down to 400 degrees F, after 15 minutes for the remaining baking time. When baked, the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in lard, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Steps:

• Using a large mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Add shortening, salt, sugar and half the flour.
• Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
• Add remaining flour and blend until smooth.
• Scrape batter off sides of bowl and cover with a cloth.
• Rise in warm place for 30 minutes, then beat 25 strokes by hand and spread evenly in a greased loaf pan.
• Smooth top with floured hand and let rise again until 1/4" from top of pan (about 40 minutes).
• Bake in preheated 375° oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until brown.

Steps:

• Sift flour onto piece of waxed paper. Measure 1-1/2 cups of this flour into a large bowl; stir in yeast.
• In saucepan, place milk, water, oil, sugar and salt. Set over low heat and heat only until warm, stirring to blend.
• Add liquid ingredients to flour and yeast in bowl and beat until smooth.
• Blend in eggs.
• Add enough additional flour to make a stiff batter, beating until smooth and elastic. Spoon batter into 2 well-greased 1-pound coffee cans.
• Cover with plastic snap-on lids and place in a warm spot for dough to rise.
• When dough has almost reached top of cans, about 1 hour, remove lids and bake at 375 F. for 35 minutes or until bread is high and well-browned.
• Let cool in cans for 10 minutes before turning out on rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Step 1: Mixing the Batter
• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast, a pinch of the brown sugar, and the ginger over the warm water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• To make by hand:
• Combine the milk, the remaining sugar, salt, oil or butter, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Beat vigorously with a balloon whisk or dough whisk, at least 40 strokes by hand, until thick and sticky. Add the yeast mixture and beat vigorously for 1 minute more. Continue to add the remaining flour gradually, 1/2 cup at a time, then beat vigorously another 100 strokes, about 2 minutes. The batter will stay sticky. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
• To make by mixer:
• Combine the milk, the remaining sugar, salt, oil or butter, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed, or until thick and sticky. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 minute more. Continue to add the remaining flour on low speed, 1/2 cup at a time, then beat vigorously about 2 minutes on medium speed. The batter will stay sticky. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.
• Step 2: Panning and Rising
• Generously grease the bottom and sides of the coffee cans or glass baking canisters. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 molds, filling one-half to two-thirds full. Use a spatula to push the batter into the corners and smooth the top with flour-dusted fingers. Cover loosely with plastic wrap lightly greased with vegetable oil cooking spray and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 45 minutes to 1 hour; the batter should be even with the rim of the pan and slightly lift up the plastic wrap. Do not let the dough rise more than double (overrisen loaves collapse during baking). If the batter overrises, scrape it into a bowl, beat vigorously about 20 strokes, then return it to the pan and begin the rising again.
• Step 3: Baking, Cooling and Storage
• About 20 minutes before baking, place the oven rack in the lower part of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° (325° if using glass molds).
• Bake until the top is crusty and dark brown, the bread sounds hollow when tapped, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 200 degrees. The crown will dome about 3 to 4 inches above the rim of the mold. Cool in the molds for 5 minutes. Turn the mold on its side and slide the loaves out onto a rack to cool on their sides for at least 2 hours. Serve slightly warm, sliced into thick rounds or cut into long wedges, with lots of butter.
• Store wrapped in a plastic food storage bag at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• 1. Make the sponge. In a mixer bowl or other large bowl, combine the flour, water, honey, and instant yeast. Whisk until very smooth, to incorporate air, about 2 minutes. The sponge will be the consistency of a thick batter, Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
• 2. Make the flour mixture and add to the sponge. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour (reserve 1/4 cup if mixing by hand), dry milk, and instant yeast. Sprinkle this on top of the sponge and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow it to ferment for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature. (During this time, the sponge will bubble through the flour blanket in places: this is fine.)
• 3. Mix the dough.
• Mixer Method Add the butter to the bowl and mix with the dough hook on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) for 1 minute or until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough dough. Scrape down any bits of dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough on medium speed (#4 KitchenAid) for 7 to 10 minutes. It will not come away from the bowl until the last minute or so of kneading; it will be smooth and shiny and stick to your fingers. With an oiled spatula, scrape down any dough clinging to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is not stiff, knead in a little flour. If it is not at all sticky, spray it with a little water and knead it in. (The dough will weigh about 44.25 ounces/1258 grams.)
• Hand Method Add the salt and butter to the bowl and, with a wooden spoon or your hand, stir until all the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it onto a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, enough to develop the gluten structure a little, adding as little of the reserved flour as possible to keep the dough from sticking. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point, it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. (This resting time will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.)
• Knead the dough for another 5 minutes or until it is very smooth and elastic. It should still be tacky (sticky) enough to cling slightly to your fingers a little. If the dough is still very sticky, however, add some of the remaining reserved flour, or a little extra. (The dough will weigh about 44.25 ounces/1258 grams.)
• Both Methods 4. Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 4-quart dough-rising container or bowl, lightly oiled with cooking spray or oil. Push down the dough and lightly spray or oil the surface. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark the side of the container at approximately where double the height of the dough would be. Allow the dough to rise (ideally at 75°to 80°F) until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough onto a floured counter and press down on it gently to form a rectangle. It will be full of air and resilient. Try to maintain as many of the air bubbles as possible. Pull out and fold the dough over from all four sides into a tight package, or give it 2 business letter turns and set it back in the container. Again oil the surface, cover, and mark where double the height would now be. (It will fill the container fuller than before because it is puffier with air.) Allow the dough to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until it reaches the mark.
• 5. Shape the dough and let it rise. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and cut it in half. Shape each piece into a loaf: begin by gently pressing the dough (or lightly rolling it with a rolling pin) into a wide rectangle; the exact size is not important at this point. (A long side of the dough should be facing toward you.) Dimple the dough with your fingertips to deflate any large bubbles. Fold over the right side of the dough to a little past the center. Fold over the left side of the dough to overlap it slightly. Press the center overlap section with the side of your hand to seal the dough. (If you have a lot of experience shaping, you may prefer at this point to rotate the dough 90 degrees-a quarter turn.) Starting at the top edge of the dough, roll it over three or four times, until it reaches the bottom edge of the dough: with each roll, press with your thumbs to seal it and at the same time push it away from you slightly to tighten the outer skin. As you roll and press, the dough will become wider. If it is not as long as the pan, place both hands close together on top of the dough and, rolling back and forth, gradually work your way toward the ends, gently stretching the dough. For the most even shape, it is important to keep a tight skin on the surface of the dough and not to tear it. If you want the edges of the loaf to be smooth, tuck the sides under.
• Place the loaves in the prepared loaf pans; the dough will be about 1/2 inch from the top of the pans. Cover them with a large container, or cover them loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise until the center is about 1 inch above the sides of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When the dough is pressed with a fingertip, the depression will very slowly fill in.
• 6. Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F 45 minutes before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it, and a cast-iron skillet or sheet pan on the floor of the oven, before preheating.
• 7. Bake the bread. Quickly but gently set the pans on the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately shut the door. Bake for 50 minutes or until medium golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 210°F). Halfway through baking, turn the pans around for even baking.
• 8. Glaze and cool the bread. Remove the bread from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Brush the top of the bread with the optional melted butter. Unmold and cool top side up on a wire rack until barely warm, about 1 hour.
• ULTIMATE FULL FLAVOR VARIATION
• For the best flavor development, in Step 2, allow the sponge to ferment for 1 hour at room temperature and then refrigerate it for 8 to 24 hours. If using the hand mixing method, remove it from the refrigerator about 1 hour before mixing the dough.
• POINTERS FOR SUCCESS
• • If not using the dry milk, you can replace 1 cup of the water with 1 cup milk, preferably nonfat, scalded (brought to the boiling point) and cooled to lukewarm.
• UNDERSTANDING
• A greater amount of sponge dough starter (pre-ferment) offers a fuller flavor in this "plain" bread, so almost 50 percent of total amount of flour is used in the sponge, compared to the usual 30 percent of hearth breads.
• If using liquid milk, it is scalded to deactivate the enzyme in it that could make the dough sticky.
• Baking the bread at too high a temperature, would result in too thin a crust, which would cause keyholing, or caving in at the sides of the loaf. Therefore, this bread is baked at 350°F. It is also important for the bread to be thoroughly baked so that the crust is firm enough to prevent it from compressing. The loaves should not be cut until completely cool for the same reason.
• THE DOUGH PERCENTAGE
• Flour: 100% Water: 66.3% (includes the water in the butter and honey) Yeast: 0.74% Salt: 2.3% Butterfat: 15.9%