Buttermilk bread

Nothing is more satisfying than making your own bread!

These days I use the buttermilk (which has a lower fat content than whole milk) that's left after I make ricotta, to make the bread. There's not too much measuring as I mix the ingredients together, but these are estimates, and make two large loaves which I cool (and slice) and store in ziploc bags in the freezer. Sliced bread thaws quickly so you can remove the slices you need about half hour before you eat. Make this bread when you expect to be at home all day, or for at least a six hour stretch. Otherwise you can figure out when to leave it. Nothing is exact in this bread-making. There are three times to punch and knead. And when you are punching down and kneading, letting it rise for an hour or more won't hurt.

Do not let it over-rise in the last hour before you put in the oven; this is the only important rising to time.

This recipe makes two loaves. This is how the plain bread looks.

Slice it when it is cool: crusty on the outside!

Buttermilk (or water) 2 to 3 cups
Salt, teaspoon
Brown sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons
Dry yeast, teaspoon or half pack
Whole wheat flour, 3 cups
White flour, 4 to 5 cups plus more to dust every time to punch down and knead

Cooking oil or butter, for smearing on the baking tray

In a large bowl, put buttermilk, salt, sugar and yeast. Leave for a few minutes - you will begin to smell the yeast. Add whole wheat flour and mix with a large spoon. Add white flour a cup at a time. You may only need to add three or four cups for the dough to come together. Knead with your hands, adding just a little dusting of flour to keep the dough from sticking. Cover with a cloth and set aside for it to rise.

Your lump of dough doesn't have to be round like a ball or smooth!

After an hour or so (two hours if that's what your time allows), punch down the dough. Dust with flour to keep it from sticking and knead again. Set aside to rise again for another hour (or two). Calculate when you want to put the bread in the oven.

Punch down and knead again, then split into two loaves an hour before you are ready to bake. Use dusting of flour to shape the loaves.

This batch incorporated a handful of granola in the last kneading of each loaf.

Grease a large cookie sheet, or two loaf pans. Set the loaves on the pan, cover and allow to rise for the last hour before baking. (If you are using a flat tray, make sure there's enough space between the loaves as they tend to spread and touch.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put loaves in hot oven, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove bread from pans and put loaves back into the hot (turned off) oven (straight on the shelf grill) for another ten minutes.

Cool before slicing.

Slice and slather with butter to eat right away or store in a ziploc bag