Bread
Bread has been called the staff of life and has been around since biblical times. A basketful of warm, dinner rolls can add a special touch to any meal. And the fragrance of bread baking in the oven offers a hearty welcome.
Store-bought bread, as my mom once called it, as she baked her own quite frequently, has been around for quite awhile. Actually, Wonder Bread, the one that “builds strong bodies,” celebrated its 90th anniversary earlier in the year.
The Wonder brand was born in 1921 when Elmer Cline, an executive with Taggart Baking company, was searching for a new bread design. Being “filled with wonder” upon seeing the hundreds of balloons creating a kaleidoscope of color for the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Speedway, he coined the name Wonder Bread. It was the first bread to be packaged sliced, inspiring the phrase “the best thing since sliced bread” in the 1930s.
In the 1940s, it became an important part of a government-sponsored program to enrich bread with vitamins and minerals as a way to combat certain diseases.
During the 1950s, the “building strong bodies” campaign became a fixture on the Howdy Doody show on television.
For those watching their waistlines, a lower-calorie bread, Wonder Light, was introduced in 1986, and Wonder was among the first brands to introduce a “made with whole grain” white bread in 2005.
In 2010, Wonder unveiled the Sandwich Wonder-izer, an online tool enabling consumers to create unique sandwich combinations from a list of more that 120 ingredients. Wonder went mobile with the launch of the first iPhone and Smartwhite, bread with the taste and texture of white bread but the fiber of 100 percent whole wheat bread. It also reduced its sodium when it joined the National Sodium Reduction Initiative in 2011.
Wonder launched a campaign to honor America’s everyday heroes, ordinary people making extraordinary contributions to inspire us all this year. The wonder heroes appeared on limited-edition packages in stores around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day. Did you see them?
I have used three recipes from “The Gooseberry Patch Country Baking Cookbook.” It contained some hints on making and serving bread.
One suggestion for keeping bread warm on the dinner table was to warm an unglazed terra cotta tile in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Carefully slip it between two potholders that have been stitched together on only three sides and put it under the bread.
Not all biscuits have to be round. Use cookie cutters to create fun, whimsical shapes, such as snowmen, turkeys, gingerbread men or snowflakes.
Make heart-shaped yeast rolls filled with chicken salad for bridal showers, a girlie luncheon or Valentine’s Day.
Honey butter is a treat when spread on warm bread. Here is a quick recipe for the treat: 1/4 cup honey, 1 cup butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Blend and spoon into an old-fashioned crock or canning jar. It can be used at home or given to a friend with a loaf of bread or some pumpkin muffins. The recipe is at the bottom of the column.
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Mary Kertoy, one of our 2011 Community Stars, makes yeast breads that practically beg to be spread with butter and eaten. She shared this recipe with me. It is from “The Gooseberry Patch Country Baking Cookbook,” given to her by her longtime friend, Virginia Nameth.
Homemade Dinner Rolls
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup lukewarm water
2 packages active dry yeast
3 eggs, beaten
6 cups all-purpose flour
In a medium bowl, mix together boiling water, sugar, shortening and salt. In separate bowl, blend lukewarm water and yeast. Combine sugar mixture and yeast mixture; blend in eggs. Add flour, stir and refrigerate overnight. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough, cut with a biscuit cutter and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet; allow to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.
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This recipe also is from Mary Kertoy’s Gooseberry Patch series of cookbooks. It isn’t one that she makes, I can tell, as the page is very neat, whereas the pages of her most treasured recipes are a little worn. It calls for baking the dough in two greased 1-pound coffee cans.
Pop-Up Bread
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package instant yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sharp, Cheddar cheese, shredded
Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and yeast. Heat milk, water, oil, sugar and salt until warm; stirring to blend. Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture and beat until smooth, about 300 strokes by hand. Blend in eggs and cheese. Stir in remaining flour and beat until smooth, about 150 strokes. Divide into two greased 1-pound coffee cans. Cover with plastic lids and let rise about one hour. Remove lids and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in cans 15 minutes before removing.
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This recipe is from a very old Christmas and holiday cookbook. It doesn’t have a date listed but I have had it on hand for at least 20 years. It was given to me by someone who had it awhile before that.
Casserole Dill Bread
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup creamed cottage cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
Soften yeast in water. Combine cheese, sugar, onion, butter, dill, salt, soda, egg and softened yeast in large mixing bowl. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff ball, beating well after each addition of flour. Dough will be sticky. Place in greased bowl and grease top of dough. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down; turn into greased 8-inch round casserole. Let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with additional butter and salt while still warm, if desired. Makes eight to 10 servings.
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Biscuits are considered a type of bread, and these use an important ingredient of autumn – pumpkin. It’s from the Gooseberry Patch Cookbook.
Pumpkin Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
1/2 cup butter, chilled
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk
Sift flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and next six ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together pumpkin and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture and stir to combine. Knead gently a few times. Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness and cut out rounds, using a biscuit or cookie cutter. Place biscuits on lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees, watching carefully until lightly golden. Don’t let the biscuits get browned. Makes 12 to 18 biscuits, depending on size of the cookie cutter.
(McCoy can be contacted at emccoy@heraldstaron line.com.)
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