Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Great Bread Recipe

 Sally Lund Bread is an English yeast bread that Todd’s Aunt made for all the family dinners.  About 25 years ago she gave me the recipe and I have been making it ever since.  The recipe makes 4 round loaves and they freeze very well.  It’s a long recipe but read it through,  it’s very easy, no kneading.  You can do it.

Sally Lund Bread

Makes 4 loaves.

In a large bowl mix together: 2/3 cup sugar
                                                    1 stick melted butter
                                                    2 cups scalded milk (heat the milk in a pan 
                                                      and take off the heat just before it boils)

When the temperature of the mixture is 115 degrees, sprinkle 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of yeast( this will be 1 and 1/2 packages of dry yeast, If you don’t buy bulk) on the mixture and stir, then let set 10 minutes.  Mixture should be bubbly.  Add 2 beaten eggs and stir well.

Add 6 to 6 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.  Add about half of the flour mixture at a time. Dough will be slightly sticky.  The amount of flour will depend on humidity so remember the dough should be slightly sticky.  Let rise until double. 

Punch down.  Grease 4 cake pans or pie pans or any combination of cake or pie pans.  The pie pans make a slightly smaller loaf so I usually use two pie pans and two cake pans.  Place a big spoon of dough in each pan leaving half of the dough in the big bowl.  Grease your hands, spread the dough like you would pizza dough on the bottom of each pan.  Top with 1  teaspoon of melted butter and spread with your hands.  Spoon remaining dough on top of each pan.  You can pick this dough up with your greased hands and shape into a circle and then lay on top of dough in pan and then spread out with your fingers again like pizza.  Top with 1 teaspoon of melted butter.  It this layer doesn’t spread all the way to the edge it is ok.    Do the same with each pan.  Let rise  until double 1 to 1  1/2 hours.  Do not over proof, you just want it to double.  It shouldn’t be high above the pan.  Perhaps just to the top of the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on the bottom rack and 5 minutes on the top rack.  Turn out on to wire racks.  I bake two loaves at a time.  Butter the tops of the loaves with  a pastry brush. as soon as you turn out onto racks.  If the bread sticks take a spatula and run under to lift out.
Cut the bread like a pie.  My kids used to call it triangle bread.  Each piece will open nice because you buttered between the layers.

The bread freezes great.  I place the loaves in freezer bags and include reheating instructions.  

To Reheat:  Thaw. Wrap bread in foil. Warm in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Cut like a pie.  Do not microwave.

I have made 100’s of loaves over the last 25 years.   Enjoy!

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