My Mom grew up on a working ranch just east of Missoula, Montana. Being one of 9 children, she often times shared many special memories. My Grandmother used to bake bread every day and during the height of ranching season, she'd have to bake for not just the children, but for the hands as well. She told me once that she'd bake up to 20 loaves of bread. Her day would begin at 4AM and what makes this story even more amazing is that she baked them using a wood fired oven!
She baked this bread so ofen that of course, any handwritten recipe she may have used has long since disappeared. The magic and the formulas tightly held within her mind and her heart. Whenever I'd ask, her answer was always the same, "A little of this and a little of that. Your dough will tell you when you have it right." Now she's gone and I've tried my best to recreate what I think is the perfect loaf. Try it and let me know what you think. It's easy, it makes alot of bread and your family will love it.
Grandma Anderson's Ranch Hand Bread
Yield: 3 Loaves
INGREDIENTS:
All Purpose Flour - (4 Cups / 1 lb. 4 oz / 566 grams / 940 ml)
1.5 tablespoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3-4 tablespoons melted butter, cooled or canola oil
4 cups milk, heated to lukewarm
Bread Flour - (5-6 Cups / 1 lb. 13 oz / 825 grams / 1410 ml)
1.5 tablespoons salt
DIRECTIONS:
Add AP flour, yeast, sugar to a large mixing bowl or to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix together well. DO NOT ADD SALT, WE ADD IT LATER! Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix together milk and melted butter until dough forms a smooth batter, much like a pancake batter. Some lumps are OK.
Next, attach the dough hook and begin adding your bread flour one cup on Speed 2 at a time until each cup is well incorporated. Reserve one cup of the flour and only add it if your dough continues to act too sticky. If it is, add remaining flour a few TBS at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should still act sticky on the bottom of your mixer.
Turn your mixer off and let your dough rest for about 15-20 minutes. I like to leave the dough hook in the dough and cover it with a tea towel.
Turn your mixer back on to Speed 2 and SLOWLY sprinkle the salt into the dough. Let your dough hook work the salt into the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Check your dough to see if you have kneaded long enough by conducting a "window pane" test on the dough. You should be able to cut off a small chunk, pull it slowly apart with your fingers and the dough should not tear. The dough should be thin enough to be somewhat transparent - like this:
The dough can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour to rise, depending on how much yeast you used. Start watching it after 30 minutes though, I cut back on the yeast to just over a TBS for this recipe today and I was shocked at how quickly it rose in my doubler!! Less than an hour and it actually rose too much. It tripled, not doubled! LOL
My handy dandy "dough doubler" that I bought from King Arthur Flour. Besides my dough scraper, this is the best device I've ever owned. I have two now - a small and a large one. This is the large. Buy one for yourself by clicking here!
SHAPING, RESTING and BAKING
Now that your dough has doubled in size, lightly flour your counter and dump your dough out. Using your fingertips, gently remove all the air bubbles and mass that has developed as it has been rising. Now, gather your dough into a rough log shape and divide your dough into three equal pieces. This is where a scale comes in quite handy once again! You can weigh your large piece of dough, divide by three (if making three loaves) and you an cut your dough with a sharp knife or dough cutter and weigh each individual piece. This assures you that your bread will be consistent in size.
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| Weighing each piece assures consistency in your loaves. NOTE: Use one for dinner rolls or even roll it out for some cinnamon rolls. While not traditional "Sweet Roll" dough, it still makes for yummy, soft cinnamon rolls! |
Prepare 3 bread baking pans (standard size is 8.5 x 4.5) by spraying them generously with Pam or greasing each one very well. Set them aside. Roll each dough into a ball and set aside. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough no wider than the width of your pan, and about 10-12 inches long. Begin rolling up the dough into a tight roll and pinch the seams together at the ends and on the long section of the dough.
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| Push out the bubbles gently so that there are no large airholes in your loaves. |
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| Pinch the seams shut with the side of your hand and pinch each end seam closed. Tuck the end under slightly before putting in your bread pans for the final rise and baking. |
About 15 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Keep a close eye on your loaves, make sure your dough doesn't rise too much, or you will lose some dough mass and height. In fact, an overly risen loaf can collapse on itself and there is no getting back what you just lost. Bread still will taste good, but you will lose texture and density will be quite high. Bake them for about 35 minutes - turning half way for even browning.
The loaves are risen quite enough. You will get a nice big ovenspring with this bread recipe, so expect more rise in the first few minutes of baking!
Cool the loaves on a wire rack. If you want a softer crust, brush them lightly with butter. Cool at least 30-40 minutes before slicing. I know, it's tempting!! The aroma of these loaves is unbelievable.. delightful and sublime!
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| Sometimes I almost hate to brush the tops with butter. I love that "floured" look on the tops of loaves. You can easily leave the melted butter off of these loaves. They soften up very nicely while cooling. The loaves also freeze well and stay nice and fresh for up to 30 days. |
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