Bake and Hand Out Bread Instead of Cookies This Holiday Season
Even if you are serious about your sweet tooth, you can easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of sweet snacks that are handed out at this time of year. If cookie fatigue sets in, there’s a better way: people are losing their fucking mind to homemade bread , and it’s much easier than you think.
Christmas bread is a favorite tradition in my family. My mom has been baking strisel – a sweet yeast bread from Austria – for friends and family for as long as I can remember, and everyone who receives a loaf looks forward to their annual delivery. In many ways, bread is a cookie killer: it is still a festive, special handmade gift, but it can be the basis of a real meal. (I make some really nasty breakfast sandwiches with me, like the highfalutin McGriddle.) And if you make the fortified dough, which is what you want, it still tastes good enough.
Fortified dough has a reputation for being overly complex, but I think it’s perfect for those new to bread making. Fat in the form of milk, butter, eggs and / or butter imparts a soft texture to the finished product, but also makes the dough itself quite gentle. This is because fat slows down both the formation of gluten and the rising process of the dough, making it difficult to overload or freeze the dough. Best of all, fortified doughs take very well for non-kneading preparation, so you don’t even need a stand mixer. Just stir the ingredients thoroughly and let sit for a couple of hours at room temperature, gently kneading or folding the dough right in the bowl every 30 minutes. This illustrated video by Cook does a great job of explaining this. Here are some more quick tips for fortified dough success:
- Heat liquid ingredients before mixing. Anywhere between 100º-110ºF is the ideal temperature for active dry and instant yeast and will help kick start the rise, especially if your kitchen is cold as balls.
- As soon as the dough rises, beat it and transfer to the refrigerator. Long exposure to cold develops a stronger flavor and ensures that the dough is completely relaxed and hydrated. The overnight stay is great, but you can leave her there for up to three days.
- Shape the dough while still cold. It is much easier to work with it straight from the fridge, especially if you are braiding or curling your braids.
- Always do the second lift. Preheat the oven, transfer the formed loaves to a warm place, cover with plastic and let rise until they double again.
- Double wrapped baked loaves. A thick layer of plastic wrap followed by heavy duty foil will keep most of your bread fresh for most of the week.
If you’re new to bread, start with challah. You will feel like a golden god when you take your first bronze braided bread out of the oven, which is very easy to work with. Smitten Kitchen has three great challah recipes, including the classic no-frills and the extraordinary fig and olive oil, and you can’t go wrong with either. Try buns or grandma if you like, or browse this list of traditional Christmas breads from around the world. Regardless, don’t be afraid to dream big – the only limitation is the size of your mixing bowl.