Five Little Chefs – Amish White Bread
We LOVE warm homemade rolls! I make them quite often; dinner rolls, French Dip rolls, whole wheat rolls. We needed to bring rolls to Grandma and Grandpa’s house so I thought it was time to let my Little Chefs tackle this recipe., Amish White Bread.
The first instruction I gave was about yeast and the temperature of water. Little Chef A didn’t seem so interested in the complexity of having just the right temperature of water, instead she wanted to know, “How do you make yeast?” Sorry, I don’t know that answer either. I’m sure we can look up an Alton Brown episode and find the answer to that!
She added the yeast and the sugar on top of the yeast to make it fall to the bottom of the measuring cup. I asked how would she know if the yeast is working. She responded, “When it gets big.” Right, it should foam all the way to the top of the measuring cup almost spilling out when we add it to the flour.
Flour was the next ingredient to measure out. We keep a measuring cup in the flour because of convenience, but she decided to use a regular measuring cup because she could level it off. Little Chef A was very smart because she figured out if she leveled off the flour toward the side with less flour the excess would fill in the hole! Good thinking! She hit the flour lid down and was amazed to see a cloud of flour instantly appear! I found this quite funny because she was so careful when she was measuring trying not to spill on the counter. “I wish flour wasn’t this messy. It makes a mess in my hand.”
When it was time to measure out the salt we only had 1/2 teaspoons or smaller left. All the 1 teaspoons were in the sink. That is fine because Little Chef A is just starting to learn fractions and it gave us a chance to practice. How many 1/2 teaspoons does it take to make 1 1/2 teaspoons?
Little Chef A turned her attention to the yeast. “Wow!” I said the yeast is blooming. “Blooming? Like flowers blooming? That is wierd.”
After the mixing and kneading was done it was set on the counter to rise. An hour later Little Chef A pulled a huge piece of dough off and started rolling it around into a ball shape. I informed her it was a little too large for a roll. “How do you know what size to do?” I told her I have made this recipe a lot. I showed her how to pull and tuck to make the top part of the roll firm and smooth. After trying a couple and being the thoughtful sister she is she said, “I’m going to make a little one for Little Chef H.” A little while later she said, “I like dough, its fun, we can make stuff out of it.” “Its kind of like play doh.”
After forming them all into balls they were laid out on a cookie sheet to rise a second time.
They were set in the oven to bake and were golden brown when they were done. Little Chef A was proud as usual for her creation. She loves the acknowledgement she got when telling everyone at family dinner SHE made the rolls! I know that is the part that keeps her coming back to learn more and try more new recipes and techniques.
Amis
h White Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 6 cups bread flour
Directions
- In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
- Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
6 Replies to "Amish White Bread"
Joan@chocolateandmore April 5, 2012 (6:34 am)
Great job! Little Chef will always remember this time in the kitchen and in her adult years, these skills will be priceless.
Rose April 5, 2012 (1:10 pm)
I love seeing how much enjoyment kids get out of making things in the kitchen. And it's such a practical and important skill to learn.
Five Little Chefs April 8, 2012 (3:50 pm)
It's amazing how much my Little Chefs enjoy this adventure! They are soaking up so much information and remembering every detail!
Five Little Chefs April 8, 2012 (3:52 pm)
I completely agree! In addition they are eating different foods because they want to know if they like it and how do you know if you don't taste it yourself.
Lauramac1 May 15, 2012 (10:17 pm)
Hi! I love your site! I'm new to breadmaking and have a question about Quick Rise yeast: Does the dough need one rising in the pan or still the first rising and then the second rising in the pan?
The RedStar Q-R yeast always proofs beautifully and does a great job even when I double the recipe I don't have to double the yeast. However, I'm confused about the rise time. Your help will be greatly appreciated!
Five Little Chefs May 15, 2012 (10:25 pm)
First I rise the dough in a bowl. After it has doubled in size I form the rolls/loaves then let it rise a second time. Thanks for the question! Glad to have you here!