Makes one 9 x 5-inch loaf
Equipment: one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, lightly oiled

This simple, golden loaf of bread is a pleasure for all to behold. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all lovingly baked bread like this to feed their families and to nourish their souls. The procedure and ingredients are the simplest there are. Our technique, which gives the dough a rest period during kneading, makes the dough bouncier and easier to work with. The dough is made without starter, so the flavor is not as complex as breads made with a pre-ferment. But this basic bread is fun to make with kids, and it’s fun to eat warm from the oven with butter and plenty of jam.

INGREDIENTS/GRAMS/OUNCES/VOLUME

• Very warm water (105° to 115°F)/57 grams/2.00 ounces/1/4 cup
• Active dry yeast/1 3/4 teaspoons
• Unbleached bread flour/355 grams/12.50 ounces/2 1/3 cups
• Unbleached all-purpose flour/255 grams/7.94 ounces/1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon
• Kosher salt/2 3/4 teaspoons
• Cool water (75° to 78°F)/228 grams/8.00 ounces/1 cup
• Milk, cool (75°F)/207 grams/7.30 ounces/1 cup less 1 tablespoon
• Canola oil/14 grams/0.50 ounces/1 tablespoon

1. Combine the warm water and yeast in a small measuring cup and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.

2. Mix the flours and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture, cool water, milk, and oil. Using your fingers, mix the dough into a sticky mass.

3. When all of the flour is incorporated, move the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 4 minutes. The dough should be sticky and will not look smooth. If the dough feels firm or dry, knead in additional cool water a tablespoon at a time.

4. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with oiled plastic, and let rest for 20 minutes to smooth out and develop elasticity.

5. Return the dough to the lightly floured surface and knead it for 6 to 7 minutes. The dough will already feel stretchy, and will become smooth and develop strength with kneading. Do not knead extra flour into the dough. It should be soft and loose.

6. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature (75° to 77°F) for 1 hour.

7. After 1 hour, turn the dough while it is still in the mixing bowl. Gently deflate the dough in the middle of the bowl with your fingertips, then fold the left side over the middle, and the right side over the middle. Fold the dough in half, gently pat it down, and then turn it over so the seam is underneath.

8. Let it rise again for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When the dough is fully risen, an indentation made by poking your finger deep into the dough should not spring back.

9. Place the dough on a very lightly floured surface. Gently deflate the dough and pat it into a rectangle with the short sides at the top and bottom edges. Shape the dough into a log shape.

10. Place the loaf seam side down in a lightly oiled 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Gently press down on the loaf to spread it to fill the corners of the pan, and cover it with oiled plastic wrap. Let the loaf rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it has doubled and risen about 1 inch above the sides of the pan.

11. Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F, and prepare the oven by placing a cast-iron skillet and a smaller pan (a mini loaf pan) on the floor of the oven or on the lowest possible rack in an electric oven. Place an oven rack two rungs above the cast-iron pan, and make sure there is enough height between the rack and the top of the oven for a loaf pan full of bread to fit. Fill a plastic spray bottle with water. Fill a teakettle with water to be boiled later, and have a metal 1-cup measure with a straight handle available near the kettle.

12. Five to 10 minutes before the loaf is ready to bake, turn the water on to boil, and carefully place two or three ice cubes in the small loaf pan in the bottom of the oven. This helps to create moisture in the oven prior to baking.

13. When the loaf is ready, quickly but carefully fill the metal 1-cup measure with boiling water, open the oven and place the loaf pan on the oven rack; then, using the plastic spray bottle, quickly mist the loaf 6 to 8 times. Quickly but carefully pour the boiling water into the cast-iron skillet and immediately close the oven door.

14. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the top is a deep golden brown.

15. Remove the loaf from the pan—it should come out with ease. The bread should sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom, and the sides of the loaf should be brown. Place the loaf on a wire rack to cool. Serve slightly warm, with butter and lots of homemade jam.

Copyright © 2010 by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree. Reprinted from Amy's Bread with permission from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A Quick Bread Made Without Yeast

Makes two 9 x 5-inch loaves
Equipment: two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, oiled

At the bakery we make a dozen different kinds of quick bread, taking advantage of seasonal ingredients and changing the selection throughout the week to offer our customers variety. This one is Amy’s personal favorite, and a favorite of many of our regular customers, too. One customer gets quite upset when she sees that we’ve used our figs to make something other than her beloved maple walnut bread! The recipe was created in the winter when Amy wanted to make a breakfast bread that was homey and comforting, with the goodness of dried fruit, maple syrup, and oatmeal. Eat it plain, lightly toasted, or spread with a thin layer of cream cheese.

INGREDIENTS/GRAMS/OUNCES/VOLUME

• Dried figs, diced/298 grams/10.51 ounces/2 cups
• Warm water (85° to 90°F)/113 grams/4.00 ounces/1/2 cup
• Unbleached all-purpose flour/340 grams/12.00 ounces/2 2/3 cups
• Cake flour/184 grams/6.50 ounces/1 2/3 cups
• Old-fashioned rolled oats/148 grams/5.25 ounces/1 3/4 cups
• Baking powder/28 grams/1.00 ounces/2 tablespoons
• Kosher salt/1/2 teaspoon
• Maple syrup/312 grams/11.00 ounces/1 1/3 cups
• Whole milk/312 grams/11.00n ounces/1 1/3 cups
• Eggs, lightly beaten/200 grams/7.05 ounces/4 large
• Egg yolks/40 grams/1.41 ounces/2 large
• Canola oil/170 grams/6.00 ounces/3/4 cup
• Walnut pieces, toasted/227 grams/8.00 ounces/2 cups
• Additional maple syrup, for glazing/80 grams/2.82 ounces/1/3 cup

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Put the diced figs in a medium bowl and add the warm water. Let soak until softened.

3. Whisk the all-purpose flour, cake flour, oats, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Put the maple syrup, milk, eggs, egg yolks, and oil in a medium bowl and stir with the whisk to combine. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring with a spoon just until all of the flour is moistened. This should be a wet batter, because the oats will absorb a lot of the liquid during baking.

5. Fold the walnuts and figs into the batter (the figs do not need to be drained). Divide the batter evenly between two oiled 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the pans about halfway through the baking time.)

6. Remove the pans from the oven and use a pastry brush to glaze the tops of the loaves generously with maple syrup. Set them on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Turn the loaves out of the pans and set them on the rack to cool completely before serving.

7. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. They may also be frozen, wrapped first in aluminum foil and then in plastic wrap or a heavy-duty freezer bag.

Tips and Techniques We used unbleached all-purpose flour with a protein content of 11.5% for this dough.

Copyright © 2010 by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree. Reprinted from Amy's Bread with permission from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.