What is your bread story?
By: Char Lotte
Bread Squad Story Challenge: My first memory of homemade bread I was 5 years old. Now you gotta know I grew up in a rice eating family except for malasadas, steam Bao, what Filipinos call shoipao and pandesal bread (never homemade). No matter how great of a cook my mother was, she could not bake.
My first homemade bread was competing with three amazing delights of the bread world I knew. I came home from school and there on the counter laid a loaf of homemade bread, my mother gave me a slice and I took one bite and spit it out. It was disgusting. From that moment on I swore off homemade bread. In hindsight I now know why it was bad. No salt and underbaked. Imagine that in your mouth.
Fast forward 10 years and I meet the love of my life and he invites me to Sunday breakfast. He has made scones, not the scones most people know. These were Utah scones a Yeasted flat bread fried in oil and topped with honey butter or pwdwered sugar. My boyfriend became my husband and I think it was because of his bread baking skills and those Sunday Utah scones. It was going to become a favorite and Sunday tradition in our family. The kids are grown and with kids of their own and the tradition continues. What is your bread story?
Ingredients
3 Tbsp. warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 cup water hot
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 quarts frying oil {we use peanut oil but safflower or canola work well, too}
Instructions
Mix the 3 Tbsp. of warm water with the yeast and add a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes until yeast becomes frothy.
In a large bowl, combine the hot water, oil, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
Add the egg to the yeast mixture and mix well.
Add the yeast mixture to the oil mixture and stir well.
Gradually add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Knead until you get an elastic consistency, about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in a large, well-greased bowl and let rise for 30 minutes, or until double in size.
Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.
Fill a large saucepan with 2 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat to 350-375ºF.
Once it’s done rising, punch down the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Turn each piece onto a lightly floured surface and roll until 1/8 inch thick.
Place the dough in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip and fry until golden brown on that side as well.
Transfer the scone to the paper towels and repeat until all the dough is fried.
Serve hot with our favorite honey butter. You can add 1/4 cup of strawberry or raspberry preserves.
Honey Butter
Print Recipe
Makes about 1 & 1/2 cups
Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter
1/3 cup fresh honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup preserves (optional).
Directions:
Whip butter until it is nice and fluffy.
honey, and vanilla and whip for one or two more minutes.