"The World of Yeast"

When I was at Houghton, I had one failed attempt at making bread. I'll blame expired yeast from the Jube, but problem could also have been the lukewarm water that I used. In any case, it didn't rise, but I felt rather holy as I ate my unleavened bread. I had never made bread without a thermometer, a mixer, and my mom's watchful eyes--but when I moved to Nashville, I decided it was time for a change: I was going to make bread (with yeast!).


Of course, I couldn't do this without help. I called my sister to ask for advice on how to tell if water is hot enough to activate the yeast (between 130 and 140 degrees--what does that even mean?). I didn't (and still don't) have a thermometer, so I needed a fail proof way of testing water without one. Hilary told me to just let the hot water run until it was uncomfortable to run it over my hand, and armed with this new knowledge, I forged ahead.


I first tried to make pizza crust (although, I must admit, I attempted to buy some pizza dough at Kroger first). I mixed everything together, tried Hilary's method, and hoped for the best. Lo and behold, the dough rose! Hurray! I had hot, delicious (although not as good as Hilary's or Shelley's deep dish) pizza--success! (Thank you also goes to Hilary for buying me an awesome pizza pan.)

In the glow of success, I decided to make English Muffin Bread--one of my favorite breads that my mom makes. It's far from healthy, with no whole wheat flour at all, but I didn't care.


I made the following recipe, from www.tasteofhome.com.

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups warm milk (120° to 130°)
• 1/2 cup warm water (120° to 130°)
• Cornmeal

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes.
• Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Slice and toast. Yield: 2 loaves. 

It was just as delicious as I had remembered!

I may or may not have spilled a lot of the cornmeal into my silverware drawer...but it was worth it.

So, I called my mom and she told me that I had really joined "the world of yeast"--and I think I finally have!