After about the age of four, any child can help bake bread, though like Matty, he or she might not be interested in or able to do every step of the recipe. That's okay. Just play it by ear and be prepared to pick up the slack. The important thing is to enjoy the process of making bread together.
The World's Simplest Bread Recipe
With this master recipe, you can shape two traditional loaves or any of the variations that follow. The no-nonsense process introduces newcomers to baking bread.
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
5 1/2-6 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
The key to activating yeast is finding the right water temperature. Don't let this intimidate you; just think bathwater. If it feels warm on the wrist, but not hot, it's ready to pour into a bowl.
Add the stinky yeast. (Matty plugged his nose for this step.) Measure the sugar into the bowl. Whisk until the sugar and yeast are dissolved. Measure 2 cups of the flour into the bowl. Show your kids how to get an exact measure: spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
Whisk the mixture well, then let it "proof," or sit for 10 minutes. If tiny bubbles appear (8s and 0s, according to Matty) and the batter looks slightly expanded, you're on the right track. Stir in the salt, then add the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time. This can be quite messy, so if your child is not up to the challenge, take over at this point.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop. To knead, fold the dough in half and push it down and away with the heel of your hand, rotate the dough, and repeat until it is smooth and elastic. (Kneading can take up to 10 minutes.)
Place the ball in a bowl greased with vegetable oil and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a draft-free area for 1 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. Punch the dough down. Knead it again to remove air bubbles, then shape and bake it in any of the following ways. Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy.
The following baked goods can all be made with the master bread recipe above. You may want to divide the dough in two and use one half to make a basic loaf and the other half to form one of the more unusual variations below.
The No-frills Loaf
Though baking bread dates back some ten thousand years, sliced white bread is a relatively new, American tradition. No storebought loaf will ever compare with a warm slice of homemade. The World's Simplest Bread Recipe makes two plain and simple loaves of white bread. You can experiment with the taste by substituting milk for some of the water and wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour. (King Arthur Flour has an excellent white whole wheat flour that makes a flavorful loaf; if you can't find it in your supermarket, you can order it directly from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue, 800-827-6836.)
To make one No-frills Loaf, use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. Roll it into a rectangle and fold it into thirds as you would fold a letter into an envelope. Turn the ends under and place the dough, seam-side down, in a greased loaf pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a draft-free area for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven; if the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, the bread is done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a wire rack. Rub with butter or margarine for a shiny finish and enjoy an end piece while it's still warm. Cool the remainder thoroughly and wrap it tightly in plastic until ready to eat. The wrapped loaf can be frozen.
Sticky Buns
If your kids are anything like my nephew, they won't pass up the chance to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the dough for sticky buns. When the buns come out of the oven, you can avoid an overly messy pan by turning the buns onto a plate right away and soaking the pan in hot water. To make these cinnamon rolls even more irresistible, substitute half the water with warm milk and add 2 beaten eggs with the salt. One bread dough recipe makes two pans of 12 sticky buns.
For one loaf, use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. Roll it into a large rectangle, about 10 by 14 inches. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter or margarine over the dough. In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of light brown sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle about half of this mixture over the buttered dough. Starting at one of the longer edges, roll the dough into a jelly roll. Cut the dough into 1 inch sections with a sharp knife. Place each piece in a 12 by 9 by 2 inch baking pan that has been generously buttered and sprinkled with the remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture (the buns should just barely touch).
Cover the buns with plastic and let them rise in a draft-free area for 30 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn the buns onto a plate and serve while they're still warm. Tightly seal the remaining buns in plastic wrap and reheat when ready to eat.
Braided Loaf
Encourage your child to try twisting, rolling, or braiding bread dough. This loaf, which resembles the traditional Jewish bread challah, gives kids a chance to show off their braiding skills. You can make this attractive loaf resemble challah, the traditional Jewish bread, by brushing the dough with egg wash and sprinkling it with poppy seeds before it goes in the oven.
For one loaf, use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. Roll it into three thick snakes, about 10 inches long. Lay the strands side by side and gently braid them (to avoid tearing the dough, braid from the center out to an end; repeat with the other side). Tuck the ends under and arrange the loaf on a greased cookie sheet. Cover the dough with plastic and let it rise in a draft-free area for 30 minutes.
Brush with egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle with poppy seeds, if desired. Bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool. Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic until ready to eat; the wrapped loaf can also be frozen.
Teddy Bear Bread
When Matty saw bread shaped like a teddy bear in MY FIRST COOK-BOOK (Alfred A. Knopf, $15), he was determined to make one, adding his own embellishments, such as a cinnamon-sugar belly and a fur effect created with scissor snips. Shaping dough is half the entertainment value for kids (the other half is eating the heads off their creations). A teddy bear is one of the many animal figures your child can form out of bread dough. (Turtles, ladybugs, or any other essentially round creatures are good candidates.)
To make a bear, use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. For the head, form a ball with a diameter of about 4 inches, place it on a greased cookie sheet, and flatten it slightly. For the bear's body, form a larger ball, about 6 inches in diameter, and place it just below the head. Make 2 small balls for the ears and 4 small balls for the paws and position them on the bear. Use raisins for eyes and a small ball of dough for a button nose. For a furry bear, snip its body with scissors. Cover the bear with plastic and let it rise in a draft-free area for 30 minutes. Brush the bear with egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water), then bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool. Eat it right away or tightly seal it in plastic wrap until ready to serve.
Pretzels
Some say the word "pretzel" comes from the Latin word pretium, which means reward. Twisting the bread dough into a pretzel shape is certainly rewarding, especially when you bite into the still-warm pretzel that's been squirted with yellow mustard. Pretzels used to be in my category of foods that seemed too hard to make, until I made this recipe. The process is more involved than forming a simple loaf, but when the pretzels come out of the oven, you may be inclined, as I was the first time I made them, to invite your whole family over to see.
While you're twisting the pretzels, you can make a few bagels as well. Simply roll the dough into a long snake, form a circle, and pinch the edges to seal. Then, follow the instructions below, omitting the coarse salt. One bread recipe makes two batches of 16 large pretzels.
For 16 pieces use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. Form it into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a 24 inch snake. Twist the snakes into the classic pretzel shape and let them rise on the countertop for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil (the water should be at least 3 inches deep).
Stir 2 teaspoons of baking soda into the water and reduce the heat to medium. Using a spatula, gently place 3 or 4 pretzels at a time into the water and cook for 1 minute. Carefully transfer the pretzels to a greased cookie sheet. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the pretzels to a wire rack and serve when they are warm, but not hot. Pretzels do not store well, so plan on eating as many as you make.
Crescent Rolls
Once you have formed half your bread dough recipe into a No-frills loaf, shape the other half into rolls. You can arrange three little balls of dough in a muffin tin to form cloverleaf rolls, then roll the rest into Crescent Rolls. Invite your kids to help you roll up these croissant-shaped dinner rolls. You can make the rolls more flavorful by substituting warm milk for the water, adding an extra tablespoon of sugar, and mixing in 2 beaten eggs with the salt.
For 8 large rolls, use half of the finished dough from the master recipe. Roll it into a large circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Spread softened butter or margarine on the circle, then cut it into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Starting with the outside of the circle, roll the wedges up. Lightly pinch the tip of each wedge to seal it and bend the ends to make the crescent shape. Place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet, cover with plastic, and let them rise in a draft-free area for 20 minutes.
Bake for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool and serve warm. Wrap the unused rolls in plastic and reheat when ready to serve. These rolls can be frozen.
