English Muffin Bread

I don't know the real name for this bread, but I think the name I gave it suits it just fine! It's from Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making book. This bread is a great way to utilize some of the whey leftover from making your own cheese. It's tasty as a table bread and it freezes quite well. The way this recipe reads yields four loaves, but I think it could more than easily be halved. It's quite a hefty dough to mix with 12 total cups of flour so halving it may be an easier way to go. Ok without further ado, here's the recipe!

English Muffin Bread

2 T sugar
1 1/3 c warm water
4 packages or 4T active dry yeast
Cornmeal for sprinkling
12 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 T baking soda
4 c whey or milk
4 T salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1. Dissolve the sugar into the water
2. Pour the yeast into a large bowl. Add the sugar water and let sit 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, grease four loaf pans and dust with cornmeal.
4. In another large bowl combine 6 cups of flour and baking soda.
5. In medium sized saucepan, combine the whey and salt and warm until just lukewarm.
6. Pour the whey into the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
7. Pour the whey/yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and stir.
8. Add the remaining flour and combine (This will take a few minutes as it makes a very stiff dry batter. Keep stirring until all the flour is absorbed.)
9. Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pans and press flat. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. 10. Let rise in a warm space until center is 1 1/2 inches above the rim of the pan.
11. Bake for 30 minutes

It's a fairly easy bread to make though a bit heavy on the dishes (I hate the cleanup bit). But being able to freeze the loaves for later use is a big plus. You can take out a loaf the night before and it's ready for breakfast the next morning. Enjoy!