This is the recipe that started it all...My Mother's 5 Day bread dough. It is good in the fridge for 5 days. She developed the recipe her Senior year of college as a food science final. Then the remainder of my growing up years, she developed it further until now... It is practically perfect in every way. A regular Mary Poppins kind of bread. Make the dough Monday and you can have rolls, pizza, bread... you name it for the rest of the week. The only rules are: the dough has to stay covered tightly, and the dough needs to get punched down once a day. This recipe makes 4 loaves, or 48 rolls. Or one pizza, 12 rolls, 6 hot dog buns, monkey bread, and 12 soft pretzels. It is an all purpose dough. Yes you can make 4 dozen cinnamon rolls and sit down with a fork and 12 friends and eat the whole pan... I haven't done it (...yet) but I assume it can be done. Diabetics... shoot up. I don't want to be held liable for a sugar coma. You know this isn't low carbo. Remember, follow the recipe as close as possible and you will have success. Pay especially close attention to the directions. Don't just read the ingredients and do it your way. It won't be as perfect as it could be...Really. Seriously. Do what it says. Really. I will say that and there will still be some who write and tell me my recipe is a stink-bug (even though they didn't measure right and added the salt right to the yeast and...their own way mixing...). There is no secret ingredient! Kung Fu Panda freaks. It is how you follow the directions... OH...and this recipe is for baking at sea level. If you are farther up in the clouds...be sure to note the changes.
Geneve's 5 Day Bread Dough--
2T active dry yeast (over 3000 feet use 1 T only)
4 cups milk, cold is best (cold soy milk is wonderful!)
3/4 cup honey
1T salt
4 eggs (or 1 cup egg replacement)
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup mashed potatoes. cooled to body temp again. The consistency of thick oatmeal.
1T baking powder
2 cups whole wheat flour
12-14 cups all purpose flour (I have used fine ground white wheat and been fine doing all whole grain, use only 12-14 cups total if whole wheat is used )
Directions. Dissolve yeast in milk. Stir in honey. Allow yeast to get all foamy and look like it is having a hay day. Add egg, oil, mashed potato, baking powder, 2cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose flour and salt, in that order. Do not let yeast come in contact with salt on it's own or it will kill the yeast. Beat until smooth. Allow dough to rest 10-15 minutes.
Add enough of the flour remaining to make a soft dough that is easy to handle but not dry. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 full minutes. about 600 turns. Yea. 600 by hand. 5-6 minutes by machine on medium speed. Form into a ball and place in an ungreased 2gallon bowl, covered tightly. If you don't have a large enough bowl...use two smaller bowls. Or...just half the recipe if you are worried. Put in the fridge. Punch down after 2 hours (this may be faster if you use warm ingredients or flour. If the dough is over 85 degrees when you put it in the fridge, be sure to punch down sooner. Also...if you have kids who open the fridge a lot, be sure to lower the temperature a bit so that your fridge is really as cold as it should be) Form into a ball again. Cover tightly and chill at least 8 hours. Be sure to punch down daily (this not only expels gas, but also ensures even temperature in the dough). Shape into 4 loaves...see :loaf molding (I roll the dough out 12 inches by 8 inches, fold into thirds and roll into a loaf) and put into well oiled 8inch by 4 inch by 4 inch loaf pans. Larger loaf pans are not recommended. Cover loaves with a light mist of oil and then cover with plastic for 1 1/2 to 2 and 1/2 hours depending on the temperature of your home. Bread will be just over the top of the pan. Make sure oven is pre-heated! 400degrees. Bake at 400 degrees for (12-15 minutes for over 3000 feet altitude) 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 15- 20 minutes (I use a meat thermometer. At 170 degrees the bread is baked through). Remove promptly from pans and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before putting in storage bags. Do not store in the fridge.
9 comments:
Chef Tess, have you ever substituted sourdough for this recipe? I'm and still trying and still failing at the perfect loaf. I had to opt for Snickerdoodles yesterday to prove to myself I really do know how to bake. Hight altitude is a bummer...
High altitude is a bummer but only in the baking. I've tried sourdough with this recipe and it's a bit tricky, but if the starter is thick you can replace the potato with sour starter and then add more flour. You want your dough to be easy to handle but not too gooey. It will take 24 hours to rise at room temperature if that is the only leavening you are using instead of yeast. I assume this is for the candida issue right? At any rate, add more flour. That high altitude because the air is thin will require a bit more flour anyway. Let me know how it goes and if there is anything more I can do. Also, because of the high altitude, you may try baking it at a higher temperature 425 for the first 15 minutes. That will help if your loaves are getting too fluffy. Good luck and keep in contact. I'd love to help you trouble shoot.
Hi, thanks for this amazing recipe. I've made it 3 times and loved it.
now I want to ask, if I dont want to keep the dough for several days,the 8 hour rest in fridge is necessary or not?
thank you
Wow! Excellent question. I'm glad you love the recipe and yes, I'm happy to report if you don't want to wait the 8 hours, you can actually just go ahead and let the dough ferment at room temperature 2 hours or so for the first raise, punch down and allow to raise again for about an hour, punch down and form into your loaves or other products (rolls what-have-you) and bake as directed. The purpose of that 8 hour rise in the fridge is for flavor, keeping quality, and all around versatility, but it isn't 100% necessary...just nice to have as an option.
Hi Chef Tess,
I just discovered your blog and am loving it! I see that you can use soymilk in this recipe, what about coconut or rice milk? We have milk issues.
Rice milk or coconut milk would work just fine. Excellent question.
I found your site a long time ago, but never followed, until I found this recipe and another that said you used soy! Joy! We have a milk allergy, so finding tried and true recipes instead of just substituting is wonderful! I'll be sure to follow, now!
Chef, This bread looks wonderful! I cant wait to make it but i had a question... I want to make rolls for thanksgiving but i need to make them Tues (Traveling Wed and my grandmother has complete dominance over both her ovens on Thursday) What is the best way to store them so they are not stale Thursday? Can they be warmed in the oven before dinner?
David if you bake them Tuesday and let them cool, bag them and travel they should be fine to re-heat in the oven just before dinner. I go with 350 degrees 5-6 minutes. This dough is designed to be able to bake and have the bread and rolls stay moist and delicious for 3-4 days. Just follow the directions and you'll find this to be true. Great question!
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