Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 cup milk, hot
1/4 cup butter
5 cup enriched flour, up to 6 cups
Directions
Soften yeast in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water for a few minutes, then
stir until blended; measure sugar, salt and butter into mixing bowl;
pour milk over and stir, mashing the butter against the side of the
bowl until it is broken into small pieces; add remaining water and
cool to lukewarm; stir in 1 cup flour; add yeast and 2 more cups
flour; beat with a wooden spoon until batter is smooth and elastic;
stir in 1 1/2 cups more flour, then with floured fingers, work in
enough additional flour to make a soft dough that doesn't stick to
your fingers; turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead
for 2 minutes, about 100 strokes; shape dough into a ball and put it
in a bowl rubbed with butter, cover with a towel let dough rise until
double in size, about 1 1/2 hours; punch down and turn it onto a
floured board; cut in half and shape each half into a small ball;
shape each ball into a loaf and put in a greased bread pan; cover
pans with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour;
bake in a preheat- ed 350F oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden
brown; cool on a cake rack. Chuck in Pok Sunday 02:37 pm 12/19
C.OZBURN on GEnie
Posted on PRODIGY December 1993, formatted by Elaine Radis, BGMB90B
on P*; E.RADIS on GEnie
Servings: 1 loaf
Perfect Italian White Bread Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Italian
The History of Recipes
It is actually possible to trace the history of written recipes back into antiquity, in fact as far as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. However, mostly, these old recipes were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to historians are a few clay tablets in the Sumerian language which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel `blissful`. Much later, in Roman times a man called Apicius compiled some scripts showing how to cook the recipes cooked by the Romans. He recounts how the roman meals were separated into starters, entrees and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius also recounts how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of many herbs and spices, including some familiar names for example bay, fennel and asafoetida. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we have some interesting books which were published in the fourteenth century - one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, they are nothing to do with the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals enjoyed by the nobility of that period. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and herbs from Arab cooking, including spices like coriander, basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations was responsible for an outbreak in cookery books, most of which still exist in private collections. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the rich families of Europe strove to offer the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, the best chefs and their recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s the formal cooking and recipe books became really popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, verifying, and writing down recipes of the day. When we get to the twentieth century, recipe books were greatly in demand mostly as a result of more people being able to read, people having increased leisure time and having more money. The TV revolution brought us TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Perfect Italian White Bread recipe.
