Now that summer is here, I like to cook outside as much as possible. I don’t mean grill or BBQ, I mean just cook. I have a proper wood smoker bbq and I also have my gas grill, more accurately outdoor oven.
This recipe is from the King Arthur site and is a nice basic white bread for toast or sandwiches (especially PB&J).
The details of the recipe are available here but it’s a basic 50% water recipe, with some butter for fat and some powdered milk for some additional protein.
1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 heaping tablespoon honey
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
17 ounces Bread flour
1/2 cup dry milk
Work the dough together and knead by hand or in the stand mixer for 8 minutes. Let the dough double, punch it down, shape it for a loaf pan and then let it double in the pan.
When cooking, I use my gas grill, a 4 burner (running front to back) with the 2 side burners on medium, and the center 2 on low. I invert a cast iron frying pan to elevate the loaf pan while cooking.
Bake the bread for 15-20 minutes, checking once or twice to make sure your temperature is good. Then tent some tinfoil over the loaf (to avoid over cooking) and bake another 15-20 minutes.
Check the internal temperature with your meat thermometer, should be 190 or so. Take it our, remove from the pan and let cool before eating. Since there aren’t any preservatives this bread will go stale quickly, but that usually isn’t a problem with homemade bread.
It’s easy to cook and bake in your grill, and avoid heating up the house in the summer months.
You don’t have to be parents to have a problem with remembering what you have in the freezer. How many times have you carefully packed some leftovers and put them in the freezer, neatly labelled with what it is and when you put it in there, only to come back 6 months later and not recognize it. Storing leftovers is a great idea, but remembering to use them is always a challenge.
