One of the things I love to do is bake. I love the taste of homemade bread still warm from the oven. However, with two little ones in the house, it is hard to find the time to make bread. It never fails that when I am in the middle of kneading with my hands covered in sticky dough, that's when the kids need something. For that reason, I like to make English Muffin Bread. It is a yeast bread that requires rising, but it does not require any kneading. Sometimes I like to make the recipe a little healthier by making it with wheat flour. I recommend using using whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat flour. The WW pastry flour lets the bread stay soft. You can find WW pastry flour at the grocery store or a local health food store. You can even mix your flour. For the batch I made yesterday, I used half WW pastry flour and half white flour.
English Muffin Bread
(makes 2 loaves)
6 Cups flour, divided
2 pkgs. Or 2 Tbsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. baking soda
2 Cups milk
½ Cup water
Cornmeal (to coat pans)
Mix 3 Cups flour, yeast, salt, sugar and baking soda in large bowl. Mix water and milk in small saucepan and heat until very warm (about 120⁰F). Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the rest of the flour until you have a stiff batter. Grease two loaf pans and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spoon bread batter into pans. Sprinkle top with cornmeal. *Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake at 400⁰F for 25 minutes. Remove bread from pans and cool.
*Tip: Before starting, preheat oven at 200⁰F. When it is time to let the bread rise, turn oven off and place covered pans in warm oven with the light on. When it is time to bake, just uncover and turn oven on to correct temperature.
This bread makes a great snack and works well with meals. It is good toasted with tuna salad (or chicken salad) on top. It is also a good side to serve with soup or chili. And best of all, it is an easy bread to make. Why not have some fresh homemade bread tonight?
