Homemade Bread 🥖

My Christmas Present to my Foodies 🎁

This our favorite time of year again. I decided that for Christmas, you should experience homemade bread with your baked ham, like I did for my entire childhood. If you haven’t already, then it’s going to be a wonderful treat. Store baked just doesn’t come close to the scent of bread and ham in the oven!

There’re two recipes below, one for a loaf of bread and one for hops bread. Make no mistake, the loaf of bread is just as ideal for ham!

For the loaf bread, here’s what you need:

1. 2 23.5x13.3x6.99 size bread pans

2. 6 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted

3. 1 packet or 1 tbsp of instant yeast

4. 2 tsps of salt

5. 1 tbsp of sugar

6. 1/4 cup of softened or melted butter

7. 2 1/2 cups of warm water

Directions:

If you have a stand mixer and a dough hook, use it, if not then don’t worry you can do this with your hands and a wooden spoon

• Using only 1/2 cup of the warm water, pour it into your bowl and stir in the packet or tbsp of yeast, followed by the sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.

• Add the remaining 2 cups of warm water followed by only 3 cups of the flour and mix on a low speed until well blended. Then add the remaining flour, salt and butter. Let it knead with the dough hook or use your hands to knead it for 8-10 minutes until elastic and smooth. If you find it too moist, add flour by tsps at a time but give it time to mix well. You may need 1 or 2 tsps at the end of the mixing time.

• Flour a surface lightly and turn the dough out onto your surface and knead it into a ball.

• Paste some softened butter to the base and a little way up the sides of another bowl and place your ball of dough into this and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it sit for 1 1/2 hours. If you’re making the hops bread also, I suggest you start preparing the dough for it at the end of this step.

• After the time has passed for the dough to rise, butter both of your bread pans.

• Pre-heat your oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

• The dough should have doubled in size. Punch it down gently and turn out onto your floured surface. Knead into a ball and cut it in half.

• Pat each half into a rectangluar shape that just abouts fit into the pan. Place each rectangular dough into their pans.

• Bake for 30 minutes. At about 25 minutes, brush LIGHTLY with melted butter. You don’t want too much else it’ll burn the top.

• Slice and serve warm with your ham :) 💕

Hops Bread Recipe:

Again, if you have a stand mixer and dough hook, use it, if not have no fair, your hands and a wooden spoon can work just as fine.

1. 2 flat baking trays

2. 4 cups of flour, sifted

3. 1 packet or 1 tbsp of instant yeast

4. 1 tsp of salt

5. 1 tbsp of sugar

6. 2 tbsps of melted butter

7. 1 1/2 cups of warm water

Directions:

• Pour your warm water into your bowl and add the yeast and sugar. Stir in gently and then let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.*

• On a low speed, mix in half of the flour until well combined and then add the remaining flour followed by salt and butter.

• Flour a surface and turn your dough out onto it and knead into a ball. Grease the bottom and a little up the sides of another bowl and put the ball of dough into it. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour.

• After the hour, punch the dough down gently and turn onto your floured surface and roll into a long roll approximately 2“ wide. Cut into equal segments of approximately 2” wide and roll each segment into a ball.

• Grease your baking trays.

• Place each ball 1 1/2” apart and then cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 30 minutes as they rise further.

• Pre-heat your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Bake for 20 minutes. Lightly brush a little melted butter on the surface at the 15 minute time mark.

• Slice open, pack your ham in and serve warm :)

* The warm water is necessary to allow your sugar granules to dissolve in the dough. If this isn‘t permitted your dough won’t rise. Use warm water and not hot water.

Hope you enjoy these recipes for Christmas, from my kitchen to yours 🤗💕