As I write, the town in which I grew up is burning to the ground. I grew up in Altadena, California. It was an idyllic childhood. Our yard was full of huge oaks and a tree house. My father had planted many trees. We had lemons, tangerines, oranges, figs, loquat and kumquat and many more. We were free to pick fruit to eat and I pretended we were intrepid castaways. The neighborhood was full of children of a similar age and we played sports in the alley and board games in each others houses.
Our family had 5 kids. The home we lived in was a small Craftsman/Victorian. I remember sharing a room with my two sisters. Then my father started adding on rooms and rebuilding the kitchen. When I was five I had to sweep the floors every hour. This kept me busy so my father could work in safety.
We would pack a sack lunch and head up Millard Canyon for a hike with no adults and a bunch of kids. The rule was to be home before dark. I rode horses in the street to trails up by JPL and the Rose Bowl. This is not something kids can do today.
I am so heartsick and just plain mad. I decided to take my energy out on making and kneading some bread. And crying.
I have made a lot of bread lately and really enjoy the process. Here is the Italian Bread recipe I used to make the bread for the next two weeks. I usually freeze the second loaf.
Italian Bread
1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast ( 2 packets)
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 cups hot water
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
5-6 cups flour
1 egg, optional
It is very cold today. It has been between 20° and 30°.
This has made the bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer cold. Yeast needs warmth to grow. But heat will kill it, so there is a balance. I have been putting hot tap water in the metal bowl and setting it aside to warm up.
Set out the ingredients and then pour out the water in the mixing bowl. Place the warm water and sugar in the mixing bowl, stir to dissolve and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Place 5 cups flour in a large mixing bowl with the sugar and salt. Gently mix.
The yeast should have puffed up and proved to be active.
Add the olive oil and about 2 cups of the flour mixture and stir slowly with the paddle.
Add the hot water 1 cup at a time alternating with a cup of flour. After about 4 cups of flour with the paddle switch to the dough hook.
Scrape down the sides and keep mixing and adding flour. My dough took the extra cup of flour, so 6 of them.
Sprinkle flour on the counter and place the dough on top. Mine was still sticky at this point, so I also added some flour on top of the dough ball and started kneading.
Knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. I ended up using about 6 1/2 cups of flour altogether.
The flour bowl is now empty. Put about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in it and rub it up the sides. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl and flip it to cover it with a thin layer of oil.
Cover with plastic wrap or a towel. I use plastic wrap as I have had rising dough stick to the towel. Set the bowl in a warm spot and let rise for 1 hour.
By 1 hour the dough should have doubled in size. Punch it down and turn it out onto the very clean counter.
Divide it in half. Press out the dough into a rectangle about 12X9.
Fold it into thirds and pinch the seams.
Repeat with the other half.
Fold into logs and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. I did both to see if they came out differently. I didn't notice much of a difference, but the one on the silicone mat spread out a bit.
Preheat the oven to 375-400°. I used 375° because I had dark baking sheets.
Cover the dough for about 30 minutes. It should rise up almost double. Make an egg wash. I used 1 egg and 2 Tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Make 3 shallow slashes across the tops of the loaves. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
Bake for 30 minutes. Switch the loaves around half way through to cook evenly. After 30 minutes, one loaf was brown and ready. I took it out and placed it on a cooling rack. After about 5 more minutes the second loaf was also done. Place on a cooling rack.
After cooling completely, I cut some slices. The bread was soft and chewy. Butter is always good on fresh, homemade bread.
The next morning I toasted the bread. I had one piece with butter and strawberry jam and one piece with Nutella.
All three methods were quite delightful. In fact, plain fresh bread with nothing on it was also perfection.
