Make Your Own Bread
by Anja
Making bread is one of the easiest things. Yet, most people are afraid or simply never think about making their own bread. Hard to believe!
I am a bread lover - I think it is one of the few foods I simply couldn't live without. As much as I love the occasional American style breakfast - a waffle, pancakes, crepes or an egg dish - to me nothing beats a simple coffee & bread breakfast. That's what I have every single morning and I never tire. Even on my work days that make me leave home at 7am in the morning, I get up an extra 20 minutes early to enjoy a good coffee and a thick slice of bread and butter.
Luckily, here in Switzerland, you can buy excellent ready-made bread pretty much everywhere. Those of my friends who visited me here know that I buy my bread at my neighborhood gas station - believe it or not. They get fresh deliveries from a nearby bakery and believe me when I say it is the best bread ever. And I consider myself a bread snob!!
So, usually we just walk over and pick up a fresh loaf of ultrafresh, marvelous bread. We're so spoiled that it rarely occurs to me to make my own bread. But every time I do, I wonder why I don't more often. It's so easy and nothing makes your home smell better. And the possibilities are endless. You don't need special equipment or any advanced baking skills.
Try this recipe here and you will be convinced.
Pumpkin Seed Bread
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
8 oz. whole-wheat flour (or any other whole-grain you like)
8 oz. all purpose flour (or whole grain, if you like)
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1-2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
pumpkin seeds (about 1 cup or as much as you like)
1. Over medium heat, heat up buttermilk until lukewarm (not warmer)
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar, add buttermilk and knead until well combined (you can do it by hand, to me that's the best part of making bread). Add half of the pumpkin seeds.
3. Cover bowl with a cloth towel and put in a warm place for one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
5. Form an oval (or any shape you like for your bread) and place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Put rest of the pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Making bread is one of the easiest things. Yet, most people are afraid or simply never think about making their own bread. Hard to believe!
I am a bread lover - I think it is one of the few foods I simply couldn't live without. As much as I love the occasional American style breakfast - a waffle, pancakes, crepes or an egg dish - to me nothing beats a simple coffee & bread breakfast. That's what I have every single morning and I never tire. Even on my work days that make me leave home at 7am in the morning, I get up an extra 20 minutes early to enjoy a good coffee and a thick slice of bread and butter.
Luckily, here in Switzerland, you can buy excellent ready-made bread pretty much everywhere. Those of my friends who visited me here know that I buy my bread at my neighborhood gas station - believe it or not. They get fresh deliveries from a nearby bakery and believe me when I say it is the best bread ever. And I consider myself a bread snob!!
So, usually we just walk over and pick up a fresh loaf of ultrafresh, marvelous bread. We're so spoiled that it rarely occurs to me to make my own bread. But every time I do, I wonder why I don't more often. It's so easy and nothing makes your home smell better. And the possibilities are endless. You don't need special equipment or any advanced baking skills.
Try this recipe here and you will be convinced.
Pumpkin Seed Bread
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
8 oz. whole-wheat flour (or any other whole-grain you like)
8 oz. all purpose flour (or whole grain, if you like)
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1-2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
pumpkin seeds (about 1 cup or as much as you like)
1. Over medium heat, heat up buttermilk until lukewarm (not warmer)
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar, add buttermilk and knead until well combined (you can do it by hand, to me that's the best part of making bread). Add half of the pumpkin seeds.
3. Cover bowl with a cloth towel and put in a warm place for one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
5. Form an oval (or any shape you like for your bread) and place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Put rest of the pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes.