| Cardamom Bread | ||||
| Makes 2 mini-loaves | ||||
| Ingredients | Easy One Loaf Proportions | |||
| 5 oz | milk | 3 tbls | ||
| 1/2 stick | butter, sliced | 1 tbls | ||
| 1 tbls | sugar | 1 tsp | ||
| 2 pkgs | active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp) | 1 tsp | ||
| ________ | ________ | |||
| 1/2 cup | sugar | 3 tbls | ||
| 2 | eggs | 1 | ||
| 1 tsp | salt | 1/2 tsp | ||
| 2 tsp | cardamom | 1 tsp | ||
| ________ | ________ | |||
| 3 cups | bread flour | 1 1/4 cups | ||
| ________ | ________ | |||
| 1 | egg for wash | 1 | ||
| 1 tbls | water | 1 tbls | ||
| salt | ||||
| sugar | ||||
| dried sweet basil | ||||
| Directions | ||||
 In a measuring cup, combine the milk,
butter, and sugar. Heat in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir it up a
bit to melt the butter. Add the yeast to bloom. Allow it to get foamy;
it will take about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, get the rest of the stuff
going.In a mixer equipped with a beater, combine the sugar, eggs, salt, cardamom, and the yeast mixture and it mix well. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat well. Switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining cup of bread flour a 1/2 cup at a time scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl before adding each helping. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into two equal parts, knead a little more to form them into loaf shapes. Place the dough into greased and floured loaf pans (or spray them with Baker’s Joy). Place them in a warm place, cover them with a towel, and let them rise for about 1 hour until doubled in bulk. Preheat the oven to 350°. Put the loafs in for 13 minutes to set up. Make the egg wash and brush it on at this point. Sprinkle with the sugar, salt, and basil which will make a tasty crust. Put the loaves back in the oven for an additional 13 minutes until the interior temperature is about 180°. Take them out, remove the loaves from the pans, and let them cool on a rack. |
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| For an Easy One Loaf | ||||
 Use the alternate proportions listed above
and the streamlined directions below.In a small measuring cup, add the first set of liquid ingredients (not the yeast) and nuke for 20 seconds, then add the yeast to bloom. In a large Pyrex bowl, combine the second set of ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the bread flour and yeast mixture and stir until it comes together into a ball. If it’s still sticky, you might have to sprinkle on a little more flour to handle it. Take it out and knead it for about 3 minutes. Roll and form it into a hoagie shape or a couple buns. Set it on a cookie sheet, spray it liberally with Pam, place it in a warm place uncovered, let it rise for about an hour until doubled in bulk. Make the egg wash and brush it over the loaf. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and basil. Bake at 350̊ for 23 minutes for a single loaf or 18 minutes for a couple buns, and the interior temperature is about 180̊. Take it out and let it cool on a rack. |
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