Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable shortening, melted
1 cup cold water
4 1/2 cup all purpose flour
Directions
In a large bowl, soften the yeast in the lukewarm water. Mix the
salt, 2 tablespoons of the shortening, and the cold water together
and add to the yeast mixture. Sift in the flour gradually, beating
well after each addition for a smooth consistency. You will probably
have to knead in the final cup of flour. Shape the dough into a ball,
brish lightly with the remaining shortening, and cover with a dry
cloth. Set the bowl in a warm place until doubled in bulk, anout 1
hour. Punch the dough down and, on a floured board, knead about 5
minutes. Shape into 2 round loaves on a well greased baking sheet.
Cover with a dry cloth and set to rise another 45 minutes. Preheat
the oven to 400F. Bake the loaves on a cookie sheet 50 minutes, until
they are light brown and sound hollow when tapped.
Servings: 2 loaves
Adobe Bread Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
We can trace the history of `recipes` far back into distant history, at least as far back into history as early Egypt, and potentially, even further back. Having said that, sadly, these old cookbooks were just very basic pictorial instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe in existence, according to academics are a few ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel wonderful and blissful. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a collection of documents describing recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius tells us how the meals were separated into starters, main meal and afters, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius informs us how the chefs of Roman times made use of many aromatic flavors, including a few you will know such as bay, mint and asafoetida. Later on, we find some recipe books which were published in the fourteenth century - a cookery book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, they are unconnected to the spicy food that is popular today, but instead accounts of the types of food on the menus of the rich people of that time. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods and herbs from Arab countries, including spices like coriander, parsley, and rosemary. These new spices and herbs was responsible for an eruption in manuscripts on cookery, many of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. For the next few years, the powerful and wealthy competed with each other to offer the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, the best chefs and their recipes were at a premium. Even so, it was during the 19th century that cooking and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the advent of the twentieth century, cookbooks are in great demand, mostly as a result of more people being able to read, people having increased spare time and having more disposable income. The introduction of the TV gave us TV cookery programs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Adobe Bread recipe.
