Your new grocery store.
A new butcher.
A new vet.
A new farmer's market.
A new dentist.
A new bakery.
It's fun and annoying all at once.
It's fun because you get to scour the internet for places, hunt them down, try them out and it may, or may not, turn out to be better than what you had before. It's annoying because you get to scour the internet for places, try them out and you may or may not like them.
Since we've moved into basically the suburbia / Stepford of Vancouver, there's no shortage of places to check out, the problem is they are all large chain stores. Not much in the way of local or specialty shops.
Until I find all the shops I'll like to buy stuff at, I bake to fulfil my needs of fluffy baked breads and cinnamon buns.
I eyed this recipe back in March when I first stumbled across it over at Smitten Kitchen, but I never got around to making it. Shelved in my ever-growing bookmarks, it was left to be forgotten.
Until I had a craving for a brioche type bread, without the enormous amount of work. Plus, we needed bread for breakfast.
For just under 2 1/2 hours, this is the most luxurious, buttery, brioche-like bread you are going to make.
The husband ate half a loaf in a day. He called me at work to tell me he just kept toasting piece after piece because he couldn't get enough.
I don't really need to find a bakery then, do I ?
Sally Lunn bread
[ from Smitten Kitchen ]
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
In a large bowl, mix by hand or with am electric or stand mixer, together 3/4 cup of flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and the butter over low-medium heat until just warm to the touch, or until the butter is mostly melted (105 - 110 degrees). Don't worry if the butter isn't totally melted. Slowly pour the warm milk in to the dry ingredients while mixing. After all has been added, mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or by hand for 3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and 1/2 cup of flour and mix for 2 more minutes by mixer or another 3 by hand. Add the remaining flour and mix until smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about an hour. While the dough is rising, grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer dough into the prepared loaf pan. The dough with be super sticky and wet. Cover again with plastic wrap and let double, about 30 minutes. With 15 minutes left to rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then invert onto a baking rack to cool completely.
The original recipe says to cool it upside down to get a more "square" shape to the bread, I did that, didn't get very square. Still delicious though.
Toast slices and serve slathered in butter for breakfast.
