1 1/2 c Milk
2 tb Sweet butter
2 tb Honey
1/4 ts Ground ginger
2 ts Salt
2 tb Dry yeast
1/2 c Warm water
1 ts Sugar or honey
4 Eggs
6 c Unbleached white flour
Makes 2 large loaves
In a saucepan scald the milk; add butter, 2 Tbsp honey, ginger and
salt. Cool.
In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar or
honey. When this is bubbly, add cooled milk mixture. Add eggs, one
at a time, beating well after each.
Add 3 cups of the flour and beat thoroughly for at least 5 minutes
with an electric mixer. (A finer texture will result if you can let
this sponge sit, covered with a towel, for an hour or so.) Beat in 3
more cups flour or enough to form a mass which clings together,
leaving the sides of the bowl. You may have to resort to a wooden
spoon at this point.
Cover and let dough rise in its bowl until it has doubled in bulk.
Stir down with a wooden spoon and divide equally between two 9×5-inch
buttered loaf pans. You may feel like you are pulling taffy but don’t
give up. Smooth the dough out as best you can with the spoon or your
hands. Cover and let the dough rise until it reaches the tops of the
pans. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until the loaves
sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the pans and put
directly on the oven rack for another couple of minutes baking.
The Garden Way Bread Book From the collection of Jim Vorheis
Yields
2 Servings