Pathfinder Template

The Bread Bake-Off

The Bake Off challenge begins. When my husband and I were first married, I used to do all the cooking. But now he actually cooks more of our evening meals than I do. And he always garnishes the plates with fancy doodads, just like a chef.

     I’m holding a copy of my Sweet Dough recipe. It’s
     the one that I used in my Home Economics class in
     1968. My braided bread turned out so good that I
     was inspired to keep baking.

My husband took the recipe literally.
The instructions said to warm up the bowl.
I guess it worked, but it’s the first time I’ve
ever seen anyone use a hair dryer to bake bread..

     I think the trickiest thing about using yeast is
     whether the water’s too hot, or too cold. My
     oatmeal bread didn’t rise as much as it should
     have and I wonder if I had the water too hot. But
     the bread still tasted great. I used to set my
     bread dough near a heater when I lived in
     Wisconsin. But that’s a problem now that we live
      in Florida. So we did the laundry at the same
     time we were baking bread, and we set our
     dough on top of the clothes dryer, while the
     clothes were drying.


This was what my husband’s bread looked like before he put it in the pan to let it rise. His bread had a brick-like quality after he baked it. He thinks maybe it didn’t turn out because he forgot to put all of ingredients in and had to backtrack. It looks kind of like a potato with seeds, doesn’t it?	All bread recipes call for covering the resting dough with plastic and then putting a kitchen towel over the top of that. I don’t know if the kitchen towel really makes all that much difference, but it sure gives it that homemade feeling.


Punching down the dough to make the Braided Sweet Bread.	Cutting the three strips of dough to make the braided bread.

These are the three rolled up pieces of sweet dough for the Braided Bread, and I’m beginning the braiding at the top. My husband wanted to assemble my second pan of my sweet dough. When he asked me how to do it, I told him, to braid it just like you braid hair. But he still didn’t have a clue. I guess he’s never worn pigtails.

The finished braided dough ready to put in the greased pan.

Braid the ends of the dough together after it’s in the pan and then brush the top lightly with vegetable oil


(Far right) The oatmeal bread, the braided sweet dough breads are in the middle, and finally my husband’s hearty loaf.	The best part of bread making.

CoolRise Sweet Dough

5-6 cups all-purpose flour
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
(quick rise is what I use)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) soft butter
1 1/2 cups very hot tap water
2 eggs (at room temperature)
Vegetable oil

Combine...2 cups flour, undissolved dry yeast, sugar and salt in large bowl. Stir well to blend. Add soft butter.

Add...hot tap water to ingredients in bowl all at once.

Beat...with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Add...eggs and 1 cup more flour. Beat with electric mixer at high speed for 1 minute or until thick and elastic. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Stir in...remaining flour gradually. Use just enough flour to make a soft dough which leaves sides of bowl. Turn out onto floured board. Round up into a ball.

Divide...dough into two equal portions

Knead...5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. ( I use the dough hook on my mixer, but if you don't have one, you can knead the dough by hand. Your arms will be lookin' great when you're done! )

Cover...the dough with plastic wrap and then a towel.

Let rest...for 15-20 minutes on a board. Then punch down.

Shape...into a Daisy Braid or you can make cinnamon rolls.

Refrigerate...2 to 48 hours at moderately cold setting. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and uncover. Let the dough stand for 10 minutes.

If there are any surface bubbles, puncture them with an oiled toothpick.

Bake...at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until done. Bake on a lower oven rack position for best results.

Remove...from pan immediately after you take it out of the oven. Cool on a rack. Brush with butter, if desired.

Daisy Braid

Roll...1/2 Sweet Dough recipe into a 6x18-inch rectangle on lightly greased board. Cut lengthwise into 3 equal strips.

Pinch...lengthwise edges of each strip together to make a 1-inch rope. Braid...three ropes together. Place...in greased 9-inch round pan. Braid loose ends together to form a circle. Bake...as Sweet Dough recipe instructs.

Cinnamon Rolls

After you roll your Sweet Dough into a rectangle. Don't cut it into strips, instead spread softened butter over the dough. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup, but I never use that much. I just cover it lightly with butter. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; blend well. Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the dough. I don't use all of the sugar mixture because I like just a taste of sweetness. But use as much as you think you'll like.

Roll up the dough in a jelly roll fashion. Pinch the edges firmly to seal seams. Cut into individual rolls. (I use dental floss to make the cuts.)

Cover and put the Sweet Dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours as the Sweet Dough recipe instructs. Then bake as instructed.

You can frost the rolls after they're baked. In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon softened butter, 1 to 2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon real vanilla. Mix well and then drizzle over warm rolls.

Northern Maine Oatmeal Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Years ago I found this recipe in a Best-Loved Community Recipes Cookbook. It looked good, but I never tried it until the other day when my husband and I had our Bread Bake-Off Contest. I couldn’t get the loaves to rise as high as they should have, but the bread was still fantastic.

2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup rolled oats
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons salt
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Melted butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine the boiling water, butter and rolled oats and let stand for one hour (or 30 minutes if you're using "quick" oats.)

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water. Add the yeast mixture, molasses, salt and as much flour as you can stir into the oat mixture. Mix thoroughly. (I use my Kitchenaid counter mixer on low.)

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes, adding more flour, if necessary, to form a moderately stiff dough. (I use the dough hook on my mixer to knead the dough.)

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn the dough over once to grease the surface. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (about 45 minutes)

Punch the dough down. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape each portion into a loaf, seam side down, in a greased loaf bread pan and let rise again until almost doubled in size about 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes or until bread tests done. (I tap on top of my bread, if it makes a hollow sound, it's done.) Remove the loaves from the pans and brush the tops with melted butter to soften the crusts. Cool on wire racks.