Betty's French Bread recipe

to: 2 cups WARM water (hotter than a baby bottle)
add: 1 1/2 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp oil 1 scant Tbs yeast

Let yeast dissolve 5 minutes or more. Add salt to two cups flour and stir into yeast mixture. Add more flour (as much as 5 cups total), stirring vigorously for 5 minutes. The dough will be too sticky to knead. This results in larger air holes and a wonderful chewy texture. (Betty used white unbleached flour. Stephen Westwood has used half whole wheat and even all whole wheat successfully.)

Let dough rise in covered bowl for 12-24 hours. Shape into two long narrow loaves on heavily floured board. Place on greased cookie sheet. For a "quick" 2nd rise, warm the oven to 150 degrees F . . . turn off . . . put cloth covered loaves into oven for 1 hour (or until double in size). Remove from oven. (For "regular 2nd rise, place covered read in warm place for another 12 hours.)

Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake bread 15 minutes, remove, brush tops of loaves with a glaze of 1 egg and 1 Tbs water and continue baking another 15 minutes. When done, bread will sound hollow when bottom is thumped.

This bread was frequently available at Betty's (often disappearing quickly if there were any visitors!)

Mr. Stumphy's French Bread Recipe

2 cups warm water
1 pkg yeast (2 1/2 scant teaspoonsful)
1 Tbs. sugar
5 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt

Sprinkle yeast over warm (think hot but not boiling) water in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle sugar on top. Let yeast dissolve and grow for at least 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of flour and salt. Stir. Add more flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until dough is too stiff and then kneading. Knead dough on floured surface for 15 minutes. (I am lazy and do it in the large bowl.) Let raise in greased bowl until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).

Punch down (literally punch the dough and give a few brief kneading strokes). Divide the dough in halves, shaping each half into a ball. Let dough rest 5 minutes. Roll each ball with hands to form a long slender baguette loaf roughly 3" in diameter (the ends will be smaller). With sharp knife cut diagonal slashes 1 1/2 " apart. Cover with a clean cloth. Raise 1 hour or until double in bulk. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes. Brush tops with egg white. Return to oven for 2 minutes.

Makes 2 small loaves. We have successfully used half white/half whole wheat flour in this recipe.

Mr. Stumphy was the French teacher at Provo High School when Vilo and Sheila were students there. He was colorful and opinionated and very good at teaching French culture as well as the language. Vilo has been making these baguettes ever since getting this recipe in his class.

Yeast dough tip: Elisabeth and James learned in Home Economics at Hastings Middle School this most useful tip. If you cannot be at home when the dough will be ready, cover the dough and put it in the fridge before it rises and then take it out and let it rise at your convenience.

Banana Bread

BANANA BREAD!!!!



1 1/2 cups white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 oz butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
5-6 Tbsp milk





350 oven. Grease bread pan. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter and sugar. Stir in cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and bananas. Mix thoroughly. Add flour mixture gradually, alternating with the milk. Pour into pan. Bake 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean.