Title: Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free - Breads #1
Categories: Info Diabetic
Yield: 1 Servings

Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free by Janice Feuer 1993 Royal Teton Ranch

There is so much joy in making bread. If the promise of having that wonderful and all pervading aroma of fresh baked bread throughout your kitchen is not enough reason to get you started, then consider the unrivaled experience of feeling the alive and vibrant dough in your hands, and the expectancy and comfort of that first soft bite of fresh baked bread still hot from the oven.

Yeasted: ******** All of these yeast bread recipes have been perfected at the Ranch Kitchen Bakery, and many of them have been blue ribbon winners at the local Park County or Montana State fairs. As The Ranch Kitchen is nestled in the Gallatin Mountain Range at over 5,000 feet in elevation, all of our yeast doughs rise very quickly. Therefore I suggest giving the dough a second rising before forming it into loaves or rolls. You may or may not choose to do this, though a second rising at any elevation helps produce a fine textured bread with a more developed flavour.

The yield is given in both the size and number of loaves or rolls and in pounds. When a number of loaves or rolls is given, they are for 1-1/2 pound loaves baked in standard 4"x8" loaf pans, and for 2 ounce to 3 ounce rolls.

Bread making is easy to master once you know a bit about the principal ingredients and the techniques for working with them. I have included tips for making yeasted breads by hand as well as by machine. If you choose the efficiency of kneading your dough in an electric mixer with a dough hook, you will still have the pleasure of having your hands on the dough when you punch it down after it has risen and when you form your loaves.

The Basic Ingredients: **********************

Yeast: ****** Yeast is a living organism with very specific needs for its growth and multiplication. Yeast thrives in the presence of sweetener and warm termperatures between 80 and 115 degrees. Yeast begins to die with too much heat; thus, the temperature of the ingredients and the warmth of the place for the dough's rising are very important. Salt, oil, and cold temperatures all inhibit the growth of yeast, so you can place your dough in the refrigerator overnight without its rising too much and it will be ready to work with in the morning.

Yeast is available as active dry yeast or compressed yeast. Active dry yeast is called for in all of these recipes. It is available in smal, flat foil packets everywhere from supermarkets to natural food stores. Yeast is highly dependable as long as it is fresh, so be sure to check the expiration date on each packet before you use it. If you are at all uncertain of the freshness of the yeast, dissolve it in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon of sweetener called for in the recipe. If it is not bubbly and smelling strongly of yeast after 5 minutes, dispose of it and begin again with yeast you are sure about.

Flour: ****** Since flours vary in their ability to absorb moisture and to develop gluten, it is hard to specify an exact amount of flour in a bread recipe. Therefore all of the recipes suggest holding back a portion of the flour and adding only the amount necessary to make a well kneaded dough that is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky to the touch or that comes off both the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl of an electric mixer. In making the dough by hand, be careful not to add to much flour during the kneading process. As you become an efficient kneader, and lift the dough up off the table with each turn you will use less flour than you did as a beginner.

Mixing and Kneading Bread Dough: ******************************** The main differences between preparing dough by hand and preparing it by machine are the amount of time required to properly knead the dough and the amount of effort you will need to expend. Once the dough is in its bowl rising, the rest of the process is the same whether the dough has been kneaded by hand or by machine.

By Hand: ******** When preparing dough by hand, activate the yeast before beginning, by stirring the yeast into 1/4 cup of the liquid and 1 teaspoon of sweetener called for in the recipe. The best temperature for this liquid is approximately 105 degrees, which should feel warm to the touch. Let the yeast activate itself undisturbed for a few minutes until it is bubbly and fragrant, while you prepare the other ingredients.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, making a well in the center. Pour in the wet ingredients and the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon, a rubber spatula, or your hand to begin stirring in a spiral motion from the center, gradually stirring in wider and winder spirals, incorporating a little more flour with each outward spiral. Once the mixture feels like a thick batter, begin to use your hand to incorporate the remaining flour into it. You will have a soft, very sticky mass in your mixing bowl. Next, lightly flour your work surface and turn the sticky mass onto it. Before proceeding further, I usually wash my hands to remove any bits of dough clinging to them, and then dry them and lightly dust them with flour.

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