Food Processor French Bread Adapted To Hand Method

FOOD PROCESSOR FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Grease baguette pans for two loaves or cookie sheet if making rolls.
• Combine 1/2 cup cup water,1 1/2 Tbls yeast,1 teaspoon sugar;in food processor bowl, let sit 5 minutes to proof.
• Add 3 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, process for 30 secs.
• Slowly add 1 cup of water with the processor running, once dough comes together process mix for 1 minute.
• Check dough, it will be slightly moist and sticky, add extra flour if needed and process for 30 seconds.
• For loaves, divide dough in half and shape into 2- 11"-12" loaves( I usually hold it and squeeze gently starting in the middle and working towards the ends, letting it hang from my hands). Place on pan, and cut or snip 4 diagonal slashes into top of the loaf.
• For rolls pinch off dough and form 24 balls place on cookie sheet. Snip a small slash into the top of each roll.
• Set loaves or rolls in a warm spot to rise, rise for 40 - 60 minurtes for loaves, 30- 40 minutes for rolls, depending how warm your room is.
• As soon as you set you bread to rise, Preheat oven to 450 degrees, after 20 minutes place a shallow pan of warm water on the lower rack of you oven.
• Bake for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 400 degrees bake 15 minutes more, check rolls at 10 minutes.
• With the oven I have now, I have to remove the loaves from the pan turn them over and bake for 5 minutes more to get the bottom crusty, you may have to also.

FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Pulse flour, salt, and vinegar in a food processor to combine.
• Stir together yeast and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) With motor running, pour yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/3 cups warm water into flour mixture in processor, blending until dough forms a ball and pulls away from side of processor bowl, about 1 minute.
• Cover processor feed tube and let dough rise until it fills bowl, about 1 hour. Pulse several times to deflate dough.
• Generously oil bread pans with olive oil.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide in half (dough will be very soft). Press 1 half into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle and fold in the 2 short outer sides to meet in the middle, pinching edges together. Turn over (seam side down), then roll and stretch into a 15-inch-long irregular loaf. Put loaf, seam side up, in bread pan and turn to coat with oil, leaving loaf seam side down.
• Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Let loaves rise, uncovered, in a warm draft-free place 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in upper third of oven, then put a large roasting pan with 1 inch of water in it on bottom of gas oven or on lowest rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Make 3 shallow diagonal slashes down length of each loaf with razor. Bake loaves 30 minutes, then carefully remove pan of water from oven. Remove bread from pans and turn upside down on upper oven rack, then bake until golden and crusty all over, about 5 minutes more. Cool loaves on a rack.

FOOD PROCESSOR WHITE BREAD ADAPTED TO HAND METHOD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (105° to 115° F) with 1 teaspoon sugar let set until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat remaining 1/2 cup water with butter or margarine until melted. Cool to lukewarm. Separate 1 egg, reserving white. In a bowl stir together remaining sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Add butter mixture, yeast, egg yolk and remaining egg beat well. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until a stiff dough is formed. Turn onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl turn dough to coat surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes. Shape loaf and place in a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled, about 45 minutes. Beat reserved egg white slightly brush over loaf. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan cool on a wire rack.

CORNELL BREAD FORMULA

Steps:

• Measure soy flour, nonfat dry milk and wheat germ into the bottom of a measuring cup before measuring each cup of flour in any bread recipe. The addition of these ingredients improves and enriches bread greatly. This formula can also be used with cakes and cookies.Experiments conducted at Cornell University and other laboratories showed that by the addition of the above ingredients, the nutritional content of bread could be improved to the point where, if need be, life could be sustained just with bread and butter. Animals used in the experiment were not able to live on ordinary commercial bread, exhibiting poor health in general and often dying at an early age. Animals fed bread made with the Cornell Bread Formula did survive.

JANE'S CHALLAH BREAD (USING FOOD PROCESSOR)

Steps:

• Put yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F). Do not use hotter water or you might kill your yeast. Stir with a spoon until yeast is completely moistened. It will still be a bit lumpy. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to ensure that there are no lumps remaining. If you are not sure your yeast is still alive, add a pinch of sugar. The yeast should foam within 5 to 10 minutes. This whole process is called "proofing the yeast".
• Meanwhile, beat egg with fork. Add 1/2 cup warm water. Add sugar and salt. Stir until mixed. Add the proofed yeast.
• Check your food processor manual to ensure that it is capable of mixing bread dough and what is the maximum amount of flour that it can handle. Note that this amount will be significantly less than the stated capacity of the processor. My Cuisinart Power Prep Plus has a stated 14 cup capacity but it can only handle bread dough made with a maximum of 4 cups of flour. If it cannot handle the full 4 cups of flour in this recipe, process the dough in multiple batches.
• If your processor has a separate dough blade, put this blade in the processor. Add the flour (Important: process the dough in separate batches if your processor can't handle the full 4 cups). Add the oil. Process briefly to mix the flour and oil.
• Turn the processor on (use the dough cycle if your processor has one). Slowly add the liquid through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a ball. Then process until the dough is smooth and elastic (my processor takes about 30 seconds to get to this stage, but it could take as long as 90 seconds.). The dough ball will rotate around the processor bowl. Do not overprocess because the dough will heat up during processing and may get so hot that it kills the yeast.
• Note that depending on the humidity, the type of flour that you use, and the size of your egg, you may need more or less flour to make the right consistency dough. Most beginners use too much flour. The dough should still be slightly sticky but not so sticky that it "breaks" and sticks to a clean hand.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured board and form into a ball. This is your opportunity to check the texture and knead in a little flour if necessary. If it is too stiff and dry, return dough to processor and add a little more water, process until incorporated.
• Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Turn ball over to ensure all surfaces of the dough are lightly covered with oil. Cover bowl with kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm place (80 to 85 degrees F is best) until doubled in size and an imprint made with your finger remains in the dough. (If you have a separate light switch in your oven, turn the light on when you begin your bread making process and let the bread rise in the oven. The light will warm the oven somewhat. You can also jumpstart the oven by warming it to the lowest setting, then turn the oven off and leave the door open until the temperature is reduced to no more than 90 degrees.).
• Turn dough out on floured board. Knead gently and cut dough in half. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Work with one half of dough at a time.
• For braid: cut each dough half into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long strand (each about 1 inch thick). Braid the strands. Pinch the ends of the loaf and tuck under. Place loaf on a greased baking sheet (I use vegetable shortening to grease my pans because it seems to release the bread better than oil).
• For traditional loaf: roll each dough half into a rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Turn so long edge is facing you. Fold right half over middle and press to seal. Fold left half over middle and press to seal. You should now have a rectangle that is as wide as your bread pan. Roll the rectangle up (starting at the short end), pressing with your fingers to seal the loaf well (If you don't do this step well you will have large air pockets in your bread). Pinch the ends of the loaf to seal. Place loaf in a greased loaf pan (I use vegetable shortening to grease the pan.). I use a slightly small bread pan (8 inches by 4 1/4 inches by 2 1/2 inches high) which yields a 1 lb loaf.
• Use your hands to rub oil on the top of the loaves. Cover with loose plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled. (Note that the dough will just have reached the top of the loaf pan (or less, depending on the size of your loaf pan)).
• If desired, beat 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water and carefully brush the top of the loaf. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired.
• Bake in a 325 to 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. In my oven, a 16 ounce loaf takes 27 minutes at 325 degrees. If you bake the bread too long, it will be somewhat dry and crumbly and will go stale faster. If you don't bake it enough, it will be doughy in the center, even when cool. Note that if you cut properly cooked HOT bread, it will seem a bit doughy. Let the bread cool slightly before cutting (I know that it is nearly impossible to wait).
• Some tips: If your bread is dry and crumbly you: added too much flour, cooked it too long, or let it get stale. If your bread is too dark you: had the oven too high (breads with more sugar will darken quicker) or baked it too long. If your bread has large holes you: didn't knead enough after the first rising to remove pockets of air or you didn't seal your loaf as you were forming it.
• If your braid is very flat you didn't have enough flour in the dough (note that this braided bread should only be about 3 inches tall. If you want a taller braided bread, stack a second (slightly smaller) braid on top of the first and bake slightly longer.
• If you find you enjoy making homemade bread, I suggest that you purchase your yeast in a 1 or 2 lb package at a warehouse type store. In my area (Ohio, USA) a 1/4 ounce (2 1/4 teaspoon) packet costs at least $.50 but a 2 lb package (equal to 128 packets only costs $3.49 -- a HUGE savings).
• This bread freezes well for up to 2 months. You can even pre-slice it.

AMBROSIA LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour two 7 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 2 1/4 -inch loaf pans.In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt set aside.In a large mixer bowl at high speed, beat sugar and butter or margarine until light and fluffy, scraping occasionally. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended.At low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture. Beat in buttermilk, then remaining flour mixture just until blended. Beat in pineapple with its juice, almonds, coconut and almond extract. Spread evenly in pans.Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Cut with a sharp knife. Serve at room temperature.

FOOD PROCESSOR WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• Heat water and butter or margarine in a small saucepan over low heat until very warm (120° to 130° F). Separate 1 egg reserve white. Use plastic blade (or follow specific instructions for your processor) and blend sugar, yeast, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour for 5 seconds or until blended. With processor running, add butter mixture in a steady stream, processing briefly just to mix well. Add egg yolk and remaining egg process for 10 seconds or until well mixed. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, processing after each addition, until dough is still soft but not sticky, about 60 to 90 seconds. Remove from processor bowl and shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl turn dough to coat surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes. Punch down dough on a lightly-floured surface, shape into a loaf and place in a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled, about 45 minutes. Beat reserved egg white slightly brush over loaf. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan cool on a wire rack.

FOOD PROCESSOR FRENCH BREAD ADAPTED TO HAND METHOD

Steps:

• Using the same measurements as above, combine 1/2 cup warm water with yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in a large mixer bowl let set until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Blend in remaining water. In a small bowl mix remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, 4 cups flour and salt. Beat 3 cups flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth. Beat in remaining 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface and proceed as above for shaping and baking.