White Bread Perfection (and I don't mean me)

Well, it’s the beginning of a new year, and I thought this would be the perfect recipe to start off with.  Plus, this is the best time of year for using your oven.  Basic white bread is just that, basic.  But it’s amazingly delicious when done right, not to mention useful.  I’ll call this sandwich bread, because it’s fabulous for that, but it’s also good for toasting, dipping in soup, or just eating with butter. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 packet yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ cup hot water
• 2 Tablespoons butter 

First you want to get your wet ingredients together.  Measure out the hot water, then add the milk and butter.  You want it to be the temperature warm bath water, so pop it into the microwave for a few seconds if necessary.  Set that aside so the butter can melt.  (If you’re using active dry yeast, go ahead and add it to the liquid mixture and let it do its thing for a few minutes) 

If you use instant yeast, it makes this super simple.  Throw all the dry ingredients (including instant yeast) into a bowl and stir them together.

Just for a quick reminder, to properly measure flour for a recipe, spoon it into you measuring cup so it’s nice and fluffy.

Then level off the top with a straight edge, careful not to pack it down. 

Go ahead and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

I like to just stir it until it mostly comes together. 

Then bring in the big guns for the kneading part.  After about 30 seconds or so, it should look something like this.  That is not good looking bread dough.  I needs some work. 

Allow it to knead for a good 5 minutes or so.  You can certainly do all of this by hand if you don’t mind the workout.  Count on it taking twice as long by hand, as well.  When it’s ready the dough should be supple and smooth, like a baby’s bottom.  Not that I’ve seen many baby’s bottoms, being of the child free persuasion, but whatever.  It’s a figure of speech.  Moving on.  While your dough is kneading, butter the inside of a large bowl.

Form the dough into something resembling a ball and place it top side down into the bowl. 

Turn it and flip it over so that it has butter on all sides. 

Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and leave it to rise. 

You want it to double in size which will probably take about an hour.  At some point while it’s doing that, butter a 9x5 loaf pan. 

Remove the towel and admire the work your yeast has been doing.  I might be weird, but there’s something beautiful about bread dough. 

Punch it down to remove most of the large air pockets.  For just a regular loaf, you don’t even need to dirty your countertop, just leave it in the bowl. 

Roll the dough into a sort of log, pinching the seam together. 

Place it into the pan, seam side down, and press it down so that it fills most of the bottom. 

Cover it again with a damp towel and leave it to rise once more.  You want it to peek over the top by about an inch or so.  That will probably take 45 – 60 minutes, but don’t rush it.  If it needs longer, be patient. 

During the last 15 minutes or so, preheat your oven to 350°.  Gently, cut a shallow slit down the middle with a sharp knife.   About ¼ inch, I’d say. 

Then straight into the oven.  350° for about 35 minutes.  When it’s done, it will be nice and golden on top, and if you tap on it, it will sound hollow. 

Immediately remove it from the pan and place it on a cooling rack.  Rub the top with a stick of butter.  This will make it soft, shiny, and beautiful. 

After a couple of minutes, you might notice little tiny bubbles from the butter.  If, like me, you don’t like the look of them, just wipe the gently away with a paper towel. 

For the best texture, allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.  Good luck, though.  Nothing smells better than fresh baked bread.  Just look at those perfect slices of bread.  Aren't they gorgeous?  

What’s your favorite thing to do with really good white bread?

Nog Your Average Fudge

No two ways about it, I love eggnog.  Nearly every year I make eggnog, cinnamon swirl scones, which are absolutely fabulous.  But this year I wanted to try something new.  The problem was I couldn’t seem to decide what it would be.  Eggnog cupcakes with nutmeg buttercream?  Eggnog pancakes with spicy syrup?  Eggnog custard pie?  They all sound amazing, I know.  In the end, though, I decided on eggnog fudge.  It was definitely the right decision.  Sweet, creamy, spicy, eggnogy, fudge. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon mace
• ¾ cup eggnog
• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

The first thing you need to do is butter a glass baking dish and set it atop hot pads or a kitchen towel. 

Now pour your sugar into a large saucepan and add the spices.  I realize not everyone has mace on hand (although you should.  It’s a fabulous topping for vanilla ice cream), but you can just use ½ teaspoon nutmeg.  I highly recommend freshly grating your own, though. 

Stir that together and pour in the eggnog. 

Stir until it looks like this, then add the corn syrup.  Ordinarily I steer clear of corn syrup, but it has a more delicate flavor than brown rice syrup, so I chose it for this fudge variety.

Stir constantly until it comes to a boil, then place the lid or for 3 minutes. 

During that time, wash your spoon or get a clean one out, and get a little dish of ice cold water.  When you remove the lid it will look more like this. 

It’s time to start testing for temperature.  I don’t do candy thermometers, so just drop a little bit into the cold water. 

When the syrup has reached the right temperature, you should be able to form it into a soft ball that will mostly hold its shape but gives easily between your fingers. 

Carefully pour the hot syrup into your prepared pan.  Don’t scrape the saucepan, just allow what syrup will, to run out.   

Now it needs to cool for a while so go sit down, unless like me, your seat has been taken by someone else. 

You want the temperature to get to the point that you can comfortably hold your hand on the bottom of the pan.  Mine took about 30 minutes to get there.  During that time, butter a small pan and line it with parchment.  I used a loaf pan. 

Set that aside, and when the syrup has reached the proper temperature, it’s time to start stirring.  Oh, but first you need to add the vanilla.  I used ½ teaspoon of two different kinds.  The vanilla bean paste because it has all those little seeds which will make pretty little specks in the fudge, and the second because I really love this Mexican vanilla. 

Ok, now we’ll start the stirring.  Wooden or bamboo spatulas were made for this job.  Well, at least they were in my world.  Gently scrape the mixture in from the sides. 

Slowly, the butter and vanilla will work themselves into the mixture.  It should be nice and smooth and syrupy. 

Just keep moving it around.  Scrape, drizzle, stir, etc.  Eventually, you’ll notice it’s becoming more opaque.  It’s still very runny, though.  So keep going. 

Oh, this is looking promising.  The mixture it starting to hold its shape in the pan.  Definitely a good sign. 

You’re getting close, but it’s still running in ribbons, so you're not quite there. 

Yes!  It has successfully fudgified!!  See how the strands no longer run, they just break?  That's perfect. 

Now quickly glop it into your pan and smooth it out as best as you can.

Fudge is best after resting for at least a few hours and even better if you can manage to leave it overnight.  Then cut it into small squares because it’s very rich.  Not that it will really stop you from eating enough to make yourself sick anyway. 

What would you like to see made with eggnog?