I always bake bread at Christmas: Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas morning; Whole Wheat Rolls for Christmas Eve; and Crescents or Cloverleaf Rolls for Christmas dinner.
Have you ever had Cinnamon Loaf made with whole wheat bread? It's wonderful!
I would say to you:
Be Brave!
Experiment!
Put two cups milk,1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 Stick Margerine or Butter in saucepan. Bring to a temperature of 120 to 130 degrees farenheit. If liquid exceeds this temperature, wait for it to cool. Then add to:
A large mixing bowl with 2 Cups Bread Flour, 2 packages of yeast, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons salt. Mix with hand mixer. Gradually add:
Up to 5 cups more flour (Bread Flour or regular white flour). You will not be able to use the mixer, as it will get very thick. Once you have a dough that stays together and is not sticky, you have enough flour in it.
Turn bowl onto floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. Bread Flour does not require much kneading.
Then, place dough in greased bowl. Grease dough ball also. I use cooking spray for this, and it works great! Place in warm place to rise.
What I do is turn my oven on to 200 degrees farenheit for 30 seconds; TURN THE OVEN OFF; then cover the dough with a cloth and place in the oven. Let rise until dough doubles in bulk-about an hour.
Take dough out of bowl. Place on floured surface and cover with cloth. Let rest 10 minutes.Grease all baking pans (spray with cooking spray). This recipe will make 2 loaves of bread. For Regular Bread: Place 1/2 of the dough into each bread pan (shape into loaves). Let rise, covered, again in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes; remove cloth; turn on oven to 400 degrees farenheit and bake 35 minutes, until loaf is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped.
For Cinnamon Rolls/Cinnamon Loaf:Divide dough in half. Roll each half on floured surface to a 16 inch by 8 inch rectangle (roughly). Brush with 1/4 cup melted margarine or butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (about 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon will do both halves). Roll up, with cinnamon sugar side inside (jelly roll style).
For Cinnamon Loaf:Continue as for bread loaves.
For Cinnamon Rolls:Cut jelly roll into 16 slices. Place in greased muffin tins or on greased (sprayed with cooking spray)cookie sheets. Cover with cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Remove cloth. Turn on oven to 375 degrees farenheit, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden. (Check after 15 minutes, especially the bottoms, as they make get browned quickly). Serve with vanilla icing (I just buy it in the can).
For Dinner Rolls:Divide dough into 32 equal pieces. Divide each piece into three pieces. Roll into balls. Place three balls into each tin of greased muffin tins. Cover with cloth. Let rise in warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes). Remove cloth. Turn oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Watch these too, as the bottoms brown quickly.
For Whole Wheat Breads:For the liquid, use 1 cup of water,3 and 1/2 cups milk, 1/3 cup oil, and 1/4 cup honey. Proceed as for white bread,increasing salt to 2 tablespoons, being sure to use 2 cups of Bread Flour initially, then use whole wheat flour for the rest of the flour.
I also have other pages with recipes on them
Jean's Food and Cooking
