English Muffin Bread

Yesterday, on my final day of waiting for my new toy (which I am totally loving), I got some more baking in. Actually, I did this recipe twice. The first time, it tasted perfect, and the whole house really did smell like English muffins, but I think I killed the yeast by using liquid that was too hot. The bread didn't rise in the way it should have.

Just a tip here about yeast: when you prepare your liquid for the yeast, check the temperature with your finger. Basically it should be like very warm bath water. I write this, because like me, when dealing with baking, you probably won't bother using a thermometer to check the temperature range.

This recipe totally suited me, as the baking ingredients here at Chez Heavenly were slim pickings. I had very little butter, and no eggs, so that ruled out a lot of recipes on my million long "must make" list. I could not really leave the house to buy baking supplies because what if the package arrived-- of course that would be so typical. You leave the house for one second and the delivery dork comes! Then it will be like, oops, sorry, next delivery within a five day time span!

Anyway, I had a cool recipe to try that didn't require to much stuff: English Muffin Bread. Basically its English muffins in loaf form. Theoretically, if you make this right, all you have to do is slice up some English muffins and allow some buttery goodness to fill all the delicious nooks and crannies. Sounds good no?

Actually, I had some for breakfast this morning with butter, and I was really impressed. This one is a keeper for me. Hope you try it out too. As far as bread making is concerned, this one is pretty uncomplicated.

The following was submitted by Rosemarie Leek at Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• Cornmeal

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a saucepan, heat milk and water to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Greased a 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.