J.R. Johnson

When my mother asked for Christmas ideas, I put bread pans on the list (I use these). Sure, I have two, I thought, but with four I could double the recipe and make bread half as often.

Thanks to pandemic scheduling, that Christmas dream came true this Easter:)

The pans were put to good use today (thanks, Mom!), and we are now the happy owners of four loaves currently cooling in the kitchen. 

I doubled my standard recipe and it appears to be a success. Great news, not least because there were a couple of moments along the way where things could have gone off the rails. 

First, the doubled amounts almost overwhelmed my 6-quart KitchenAid. It was a lot to mix. The good news is that the new batch of flour is performing better than last year’s flour, which needed (heh) twice the kneading time to build any gluten at all.

Second, and most dangerously/amusingly, I used new yeast. The dough rose beautifully but much faster than expected. The last batch took two hours for the first rise. I checked today’s batch after an hour and had to laugh. The dough was twice the size it should have been and the container’s lid was bulging up with the sort of vigor I expect from active volcanoes or chest-bursting aliens. Releasing the pressure was an exercise in risk management, but I got it done.

Of course, I also made minor adjustments to the process throughout. As one does.

So, fresh yeast, fresh flour, and a fresh take on an old recipe. And now it’s time to see what Mr Man thinks of the results!

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