QUESTION FROM Laura Humphrey on TRIED AND TRUE RECIPES ON FACEBOOK
Attention all cooking friends…another question for you. I am making a bunch of stuff from scratch this month and am curious how pre-making pizza dough and freezing would work. Would I freeze it flat? Do I need to let it rise both times or freeze it after the first rise? How does the defrost process work? Can you take it straight from freezer to oven or does it need to thaw thoroughly then cook?
I know this seems like a lot of questions but being I am making for the month I want to make sure it is done right. Thanks in advance!
MY EASY BREAD RECIPE by Donna Carano-Cooper
What you need:
A bowl.
The one in the picture is perfect for bread making. There are no creases or seams in the bottom for the dough to get stuck in. They sell them everywhere for around $1.00.
A whisk. It makes blending a breeze
A very large spoon (not wooden)
A one cup measuring cup
A 1/3 cup measuring cup
A one tablespoon measuring spoon
A one teaspoon measuring spoon
Two good bread pans, one pound loaf size
Ingredients: **
White Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Bakers Yeast
Vegetable Oil
Salt
Sugar
Shortening
** You can also add a half cup of steel cut oats or any other type of whole grains to this bread recipe. If you add these, do it between the first cup of flour and the salt for best results.
Proceedure:
Put the bowl in the kitchen sink. It’s just the right height….especially for neading.
Put three cups of very warm…almost hot tap water in the bowl.
Add three tablespoons of sugar and whisk it to melt.
Add 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of bakers yeast. ( I buy mine in bulk, so don’t know how much the little packets contain)
Wisk it all together.
Add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and about a cup of white flour. Whisk it well.
** I don’t measure my flour. I add according to feel. Once you’ve made this bread a few times, you’ll be able to make it with your eyes closed. I can make it faster and much better than a bread maker.**
Add another cup of white flour and wisk.
Add 3 teaspoons of salt and mix it in well.
Add one cup of whole wheat flour and mix it well
**Flour should be 3 white to 1 whole wheat flour**
Keep adding flour in the 3 to 1 proportions until you can no longer use the whisk.
Then add flour and use the big spoon to clean the sides of the bowl and blend the flour in When there is enough flour to take the dough past the sticky stage, begin to nead the dough, adding more flour as needed.
When the dough is not sticky, but it’s soft and the bottom of the bowl is clean, lift the dough out with one hand and put a tiny bit of vegetable oil in the bottom of the bowl and spread it around the bottom with your fingers. Then drop the dough into the bowl and spin it in the bowl to put the tiny bit of oil to be on the bottom. Now flip the dough over so that the very lightly oiled side is up. Cover the bowl with a towel and put it in a relatively warm spot for 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to rest.
While that’s resting, grease and flour your bread pans and set aside.
When the bread has rested, it should have risen at least by 1/2. If the area is too cold, set the bowl of dough inside a bigger bowl with an inch of warm water.
Next (after resting) cut the dough in half, form it for the pans and set the pans in a warm area to rise. When the dough is about 1 inch above the rim of the pans, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. When it’s ready, bake the loaves in the center of the oven for about 1/2 hour. If you use aluminum pans, it’s closest to 1/2 hour. If you use a darker tin type, check it in 20 minutes. I don’t have any luck with teflon or other coated pans.
Remove the bread from the pans immediately and cool them on a wire rack.
If you MUST slice the bread before it’s ompletely cool, use a bread board and a bread knife or a good serrated edge knife.
When the bread is completely cool, wrap it tightly in a plastic bag to keep it fresh.
It freezes really well and comes out tasting fresh baked, but wrap it tightly in about 3 layers of bags.
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