gutfud – the food, es ist gut

Back in the day when I actually had a job somewhat related to my academic studies, ye olde botany days, I prepped the college botany labs.
For the respiration lab, the kids learned how to bake bread. The recipe was dead easy and it made a perfectly decent and simple bread. We supplied sweet whipped butter and honey.

For most of the college kids, this was their first time baking bread and probably their first time even seeing bread being made. That is very sad as I do recall watching and helping my mother knead bread as a child. The instinct on kneading never goes away. But making bread in the teens and 20s is certainly better than never making bread at all. Imagine whole generations of Americans who have never made bread. It’s boggling, especially with a recipe this easy.
Then again, I’m not much of a modern day bread baker myself. I was cleaning my cupboards out when I discovered a crazy amount of flour and yeast just sitting there waiting to go stale or get infested with bugs. So I set to work.

Botany Bread – for teaching the science of respiration

1 tablespoon oil – olive or canola (plus extra to grease the bowl)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 ounce fresh yeast or 1 packet of that instant stuff, or 2 teaspoons of bulk instant yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour (or 2 1/2 c. all purpose plus 1 c. bread flour)
1 tablespoon salt

Mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl to make the sponge. Let it sit until the mixture is foamy.

Sift together flour and salt in a large bowl.

Add wet mixture to the dry and combine with a spoon, then mix with hands.

Place out on a floured board and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic – 5 to 10 minutes.

Form into a ball. Put a drizzle of oil into a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning it over to coat all sides with oil. Cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm place away from drafts for about an hour or until risen to twice its size.

Turn out onto the board, punch down and knead a few more times. Form into a log and set into an oiled and flour 9 inch bread pan, seam side down.

Cover with a cloth and again set it sit in a warm place away from drafts until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Brush with melted butter for a soft crust, or with water for a crunchy crust.

Bake at 375 F for 40-60 minutes or until the top is browned. Tap the bottom to test for doneless – if it sounds hallow it’s ready.

Best served warm and fresh.