So we have established that I have a great love for baking and cooking. I have a BIG place in my heart for Bread. Seriously – Bread, Pizza, and Chocolate – all I need to live. I make rolls of all kinds, artisan loaves, french bread, dessert bread, but to be honest, I rarely made “loaf” bread – until now! This summer, I am going to be making at least 2 of these loaves a week (when we are not on vacation) and try not buy any store-bought bread. It is just soooo good! Slather some butter on it, and you have quite the treat! Homemade bread fresh from the oven = little slice of heaven.
Now there is a story behind the name “Abby Bread.” I have had the blessing of working with the youth in my ward at church for a few years now. One of the most remarkable Young Women I have had the Privilege to teach/learn from/ serve with is Abby. She is a wonderful young woman who I admire greatly – she’s awesome (seriously, I could go on and on with how great she is…. If I were to have a favorite YW, not that I would, it would be her). So for a Personal Progress Project, Abby learned how to bake bread for the sacrament. It was one of my favorite projects ever, and the entire ward enjoyed it. We got to joking that they needed to serve butter with the sacrament bread. Recently, my LOVE for “Abby Bread” was rekindled while we were doing our YW fundraiser. She offered up her bread, I bought a loaf, and may have eaten the entire thing myself (ok, I did share a bit with my family, but I probably ate at least half of it)… After having an entire loaf, I KNEW I had to have the recipe. So I did what any person would do, and begged her equally wonderful mom for the recipe (BTW – her mom has given me several great recipes, some here on the blog, over the years)…
So I made Abby bread for myself this week. I forced myself to freeze the second loaf for a few days, so I didn’t just eat it all in one day. I took it out today and we are having it with dinner. I can’t wait… Seriously, I can’t stop thinking about eating it, but I know if I cut into it, half of it will be in my belly before dinner 😉 Ha!
It is really pretty easy to make, especially if you have a Kitchen Aid (which, if you don’t, GET ONE! Totally worth the money!!! Mine is the BIG one and is used at least 5 times per week!) and it is WELL worth the time. Nothing like yummy, fresh, homemade bread right from the oven – divine. And this recipe is seriously the BEST! I wonder how it would taste with our Rolled Sandwiches? I may be trying it this weekend….
I am mainly recording it here for me to have and reference for many years to come – I never want to lose this recipe! I know I will be making it weekly, at least through the summer! Seriously, go make a few loves now…
I will admit I did not measure the “sticky” Ingredients. I simply eyeballed them, like I do with most “Sticky” or Messy ingredients (PB, Honey, Molasses, Oil, Yogurt, etc.). I have become really good at eyeballing, mainly because I do not want to wash the dishes. It turned out great, even with my eyeballing the ingredients….
Ingredients:
- 3 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 T yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 T oil
- 2 T molasses
- 4 cups wheat flour
- 3 1/3 cups bread flour
- 1 T plus 1 t of salt
Directions:
Mix the water, sugar, and yeast together and let sit until foamy (5 minutes or so). Add in the dry ingredients and then knead the ingredients together with the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes. Let rise for 40 minutes. Grease 2 loaf pans (I used 2 9×5 pans). Form the dough into 2 loaves and allow to rise another 40 or so minutes. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool and a cooling rack. Or if you’re like me, just slice and eat it warm with butter… Mmmmm… YUM! I’m making myself hungry….
Thank you Abby (and her mom) for this amazing bread recipe. Now I know who I can blame the 10 extra pounds I will gain this summer from eating bread on 😉
I didn’t realize that one of my pans was .5″ bigger than the other pan, but it is totally noticeable in the picture!
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 T yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 T oil
- 2 T molasses
- 4 cups wheat flour
- 3 1/3 cups bread flour
- 1 T plus 1 t of salt
Instructions
- Mix the water, sugar, and yeast together and let sit until foamy (5 minutes or so).
- Add in the dry ingredients and then knead the ingredients together with the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes.
- Let rise for 40 minutes.
- Grease 2 loaf pans (I used 2 9x5 pans).
- Form the dough into 2 loaves and allow to rise another 40 or so minutes.
- Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool and a cooling rack
