Ethereal air bread
16 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | tablespoons | Yeast, dry |
| 1 | teaspoon | Diastatic malt powder |
| 8 | cups | Flour, all purpose |
| 1 | tablespoon | Salt |
| 2 | cups | Milk, skim |
| ¼ | cup | Oil, vegetable |
| ¼ | cup | Honey |
| 2 | larges | Egg whites, lightly beaten |
Directions
Mix the yeast, diastatic malt powder, 6 cups flour, and the salt together. In a saucepan heat the milk, vegetable oil, and honey to 120F.
The liquid will just start to feel hot. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, and add the lightly beaten egg whites. Add another cup of flour and stir until the dough has formed a shaggy mass. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough has formed a smooth ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel. Place the dough in a warm spot and let rise until doubled in size. This will take about l ½ hours.
Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough briefly to expel air bubbles. Grease two 8½" x 4 ½" loaf pans. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each piece out into a rectangle the same length as the pans. The rectangles should be about ¼" thick. Roll up the dough the long way and place it in the pans. Cover the loaves with a damp towel and let them rise 30-45 minutes, until they are about 1" over the top of the pans. While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the loaves for 35-34 minutes, or until well browned and the bottoms sound hollow when thumped. Cool the loaves on a rack. Yield: Two loaves, each yielding sixteen ½ inch slices.
Source: The kind folks at King Arthurs Flour sent me this with my last order. Try it, it is great for sandwiches.