BethyYeast or quick?
I have met my personal goal of making all my breads at home - but I’m in a rut. Almost all of my bread is of the quick variety. Actually, I use just one recipe: my own special and tasty take on three-grain peanut bread (adapted from the original in Doris Longacre’s most excellent cookbook, Living More with Less Cookbook). It is wonderful and meets many of my needs. I must have improved on it over the years (4?) that I’ve been baking it - people (even non-gnarly vegetarians who buy store-bought) claim to enjoy it. Well, I’m not sure about that—but I like it.
Three-grain peanut bread is good for what it’s good for: breakfast, rounding out a skimpy meal, giving lotsa good nutrients. But it is heavy, and can get crumbly. Once or twice, in my teens, I attempted a risen loaf. Disasterous results. I don’t think I understood what “proofing the yeast” meant in those days … and I seem to remember adding some yellowy cheese to the things. Yike. Well, life has changed since those failed and gross attempts. The cheese is no more, thank goodness. I’ve read a fair bit about making yeat bread. I’ve seen it done. I just can’t seem to bring myself to do it.
Most of the recipes I’ve been pondering are for two loaves. I don’t think I could bear wasting 6 cups of flour if it fails! Yet I’m also nervous about cutting the porportions—is it important for the rising magic to go?
Here’s to overcoming that fear, and to giving yeast-risen bread a real go. Or, rather, a real bake. 5 years ago
