  
Eleuthera White Bread
Throughout the island you can find ladies who sell the most wonderful home-made bread. There is nothing like bringing home a brown-paper bag containing a
loaf of hot bread. Golden topped and soft, the island bread is unforgettable. Bring a
bit of Eleuthera into your kitchen with hot, fresh bread lavishly buttered.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 package of active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
|
|
Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water and set aside until foamy (5 - 10 minutes)
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of the shortening and blend with a fork or pastry cutter. Add yeast mixture to bowl and stir until dough comes together and is too stiff to stir. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead about 15 minutes
until smooth. (Here I take a time saving tip. Use your Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook to knead the bread. Not as
therapeutic as doing it by hand, but if you need to save a bit of labor, it works fine.)
Shape dough into a ball, dust with flour and transfer to a large clean bowl lightly coated with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk ( 1 - 1 1/2 hours). NOTE: a light dusting with flour or a thin coat of oil keeps the bread from sticking to the cloth or plastic when it rises.
Grease a large 12" x 6" loaf pan or two smaller 6 cup loaf pans depending on whether you want to make one or two loaves. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into an oval (divide in half if making two loaves). Place dough smooth side up in the greased pan, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place, and allow to rise until it reaches the top of the pan (1 - 1/2 hours).
Place into preheated 350 degree oven and bake about 30 minutes until golden brown. They will sound hollow when tapped.
Remove from oven and allow to cool briefly, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack.
Although you should wait for your bread to completely cool, cut a slice while hot and spread with butter. And remember the magic of the islands.
|
