A Bread for All Tastes

By Mat Herban 

          Nothing makes a house a home more than the smell of freshly baked bread. So on Mother’s Day or even Father’s Day, please the whole family with your own creation.  The key to this bread is that you don’t have to knead it.  Just dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix them well with a large spoon. 

          Unlike other breads, the dough will be quite soft, but that is fine because all you do is turn it into a well greased pan and let it rise. It will rise faster in a warm location.

           This bread is versatile, another reason why your family will love it.  It makes great toast or sandwiches and is firm enough so it won’t fall apart. Grilled cheese sandwiches are wonderful with any of the versions. Our granddaughter’s favorite is raisin bread—she loves raisin toast. And the parmesan and herb additions make a slightly savory loaf that is a luscious accompaniment to an evening meal.  When we serve this bread for dinner, we slice it about one-half inch thick, then cut each slice in half vertically.  Just before serving, we microwave the bread just enough to warm it—about 30 seconds.  Then we put out butter to go with it—sweet butter is especially nice with the whole wheat bread. 

If you try this recipe, you will be surprised at the taste and ease of making it.  

No-Knead White Bread 

Mix together in food processor  

4 cups white flour*          

2 Tbs. sugar (white or brown) or honey

 1 tsp. salt

 2 tsp. yeast (quick rise yeast) 

While mixing, slowly add:   2 cups very warm water 

When well mixed so no dry flour remains, place dough in a

 9 1/4 x 4 1/4 pan greased with PAM or butter.  Push bread into corners and

smooth top with a damp hand.  Brush one tablespoon melted butter on the top.

Let rise to the top of pan for an hour or less in a warm room. Begin

to preheat oven to 425.

When the oven is warm, the bread should be a little over the top of the

pan.  Carefully, without jolting the bread, place pan on a rack in

the center of the oven to bake for 25 to 35 minutes.

Remove bread from oven and let it sit in the pan five minutes.  Run a knife

around the edges and turn the bread out (shaking a bit if necessary). If

the sides seem to need further cooking, turn the oven off and return

the bread to the oven (out of pan) for 10 minutes.  Cool completely

before cutting.  It continues to cook as it cools. If you cut the bread

while it is hot, it will be gummy.

  • Bread flour is best, but not essential.
  • To make whole wheat bread, replace 1 cup of white flour with whole wheat.
  • To make raisin bread, add one cup of raisins.
  • To make parmesan herb bread, add to dry ingredients:          

               three tablespoons grated parmesan cheese and two tablespoons dried salad

                herbs or one teaspoon dried thyme, one-half teaspoon dried basil and one-half teaspoon dried oregano

Mat Herban is a lifetime amateur cook who loves trying new recipes, inventing recipes and sharing the results with his friends.  He can be reached at [email protected]

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