Amish Country Bread

(Insert annoying Infomercial announcer voice.)

“Are you scared of making bread?

Does the idea of living yeast freak you out?

Do you think it takes hours and hours of work to make a loaf of gorgeous bread?

If you have been putting off making bread because it just seems too intimidating, have I got the recipe for YOU!”

Seriously, though, I have found the easiest, non-work-intensive, impressive looking recipe for bread.  If you have a KitchenAid with a dough hook, it’s only about 5 minutes total of actual work.  If you don’t, add about 10 minutes for kneading.

But really, 15 minutes invested for two fresh, golden loaves of homemade, delicious bread is so worth it!

The Recipe:

Amish Country Bread, adapted from One More Moore

4 T sugar

2 T butter, melted

3 t salt

1 1/2 c hot water

2 T yeast

4-5 c of flour (enough to form a dough ball that isn’t too sticky)

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1 egg white

1 T water

Kosher salt

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Put all ingredients but the flour into the mixer (KitchenAid) and let sit for a few minutes, until the mix is bubbly.  Add the flour in small batches & mix with a dough hook for 8-10 minutes.

(If you don’t have a KitchenAid, just mix by hand until a dough ball forms and then knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic.)

Remove & place in a bowl that has been greased.  Let dough rise until double in size (about 30 minutes, though it could be longer depending on the yeast you used).  Punch down and divide in half into 2 rounds.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Cut decorative slits on top – make sure to use a very sharp knife.

Let dough rise again.  Spread an egg white wash (the egg white and water mixed) over the top and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or until it’s golden in color and sounds hollow when you thump the top.

{Printable Recipe}

The Results:

Hopefully I’ve convinced you how easy this recipe is.  (If not, I really need to work on my writing skills!)

I dumped in some ingredients and pretty much let everything else do the work.  The only part I wasn’t sure about, was scoring the dough for the lovely looking top.  Hubs strongly encouraged me to make sure my knife was as sharp as it could be before I cut – so I sharpened it (something I still hate doing).  But the knife worked like a charm, so I guess it was worth it.

And they came out looking like this…

The bread is sweet and flavorful – perfect with a little butter or used for a fresh turkey sandwich (which we did and it was SO good!)

Run, don’t walk, to your cupboards – and make this.

You will impress yourself!