Snow Day, Why Not Make Bread

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Today was a snow day so I thought I would make good use of a quite day at home, since I don't get to stay home for a full day very often.  I made a nice fresh loaf of egg bread, it's a little time consuming because you mix if then let it rise then shape it and let it rise some more then bake it.  When it was finally done and the house smelt like a bakery, delicious!

We decided to make chicken sandwiches for dinner. Rotisserie chicken, with spinach, tomato, provolone and yogurt caesar dressing.  The bread it very filling, even my husband had a hard time finishing his whole sandwich.

I will definitely make this bread again, it is one of the better breads I have made.  The recipe for the bread doesn't use a mixer but I always make my dough in my mixer.  I'm a bit of a baby about kneading dough and the mixer does a much better job of it then I do.  The dough always comes out perfectly smooth and rises beautifully. 

Later this week I plan on using the rest of the bread to make french toast, I'll let you know how it goes.


Egg Bread

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. instant yeast
• 3-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1-1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of the flour. Add the warm water, stir, and let this mixture, called a sponge, sit until it starts to puff up, 15-to 20-minutes.
2. Add the eggs, oil, honey, and salt; stir until well combined.
3. Add the remaining flour and mix the dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. Put the dough into a large bowl and let it rise until doubled in bulk and very soft to the touch, about 2 hours.
6. Turn the dough into a greased loaf pan and form to the size of the pan, be sure to get into the corners of the pan.  Let the dough rise in the loaf pan for 2 more hours.
7. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.
8. Just before baking, brush the dough with the beaten egg.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake until the bread is a dark brown, about another 15 minutes.
10. Let cool thoroughly on a rack.

ENJOY!