Bun in the Oven

Two of them.

Not babies, but bread. I mean, do you *really* think I'd be enjoying a cold and delicious glass of Pinot Grigio right now if I was knocked up? I think not.

I bake our bread, not buy it. It's really the best thing ever. It costs less than $0.50 a loaf, and it tastes so much better than store bought. Want my recipe?

1/2 cup HOT water from the tap.
1 tsp sugar
Dissolve sugar in water in a small bowl and let it cool slightly until lukewarm to the touch. Add 1 tbsp of active dry yeast (no packets!!). Set aside for ten minutes until proofed.

In another bowl, combine 1c of HOT water, 1/8 c. of honey, 1/8 c. white sugar, 1/4 c. sunflower oil. Stir. Then add 1 c. of all purpose flour. Stir until it's like a batter.

By this point, your yeast should have proofed, so add it to the bowl and stir it in well. Add 2 tsp. salt. Stir well. Add another cup of flour. Stir it in. Add enough flour that it's a very mushy dough.

Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead that sucker, adding more flour, until it feels like velvet, has an even texture when you cut through it, and it's tacky, but doesn't stick ridiculously to your counter or your hands. Think that blue stuff you put posters up with.



Stick that back in your bowl and apply a wee bit of olive oil on top so that it doesn't dry out. Turn your oven on for about two minutes, then shut it off, and check the temperature inside. If it's pleasantly warm, like a warm bath, stick your bread dough in. If it's too hot, leave the door open to cool it out a bit, then stick your bread in. Leave it for about an hour, until doubled.

Punch down your dough. kneading slightly, and then divide into two greased non-stick pans. Coat tops with olive oil and put it back in your still-warm oven to rise again. At this point, grab a pan of water and put it on your bottom rack. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

When your bread looks like this, about an hour later, it's ready to bake.



Turn your oven to 400 *F, and let it chillax in there for 40 minutes. Then knock it down to 375 *F and bake for another 10. Bread is finished when it sounds hollow if you knock it on the top.

Turn it out, onto its side, on a rack to cool. On its side will stop the bread from sweating in the pan, and stop the tops of the loaves from falling. Brush the tops with butter while they're still warm. Voila, delicious, simple homemade bread.