TGA- Day Three

Posted: March 10, 2011 | Author: Alyssa | Filed under: Alyssa, The Great Adventure | 1 Comment »

Today truly was an adventure.  The plan for the day was to work on making bread, and at the (joking) request of a couple students I thought it might be interesting to try our hand at making matzo.  Here is the schedule I had in my head:  1. Use the leftover pie crust to make empanadas.  2. Make bread dough and set to rise.  3. While dough is rising, make matzo.  4. Punch down bread, shape it and bake it.  5.  Clean while waiting for bread.  6.  Pull out bread to cool while we finish cleaning.  Done. 

Now, for those of you that don’t know much about teaching, or life, here is a little tip.  NOTHING works out like you plan.  Here is how the day really went:

1. Make empanadas for the kids (success!)  2. Make bread dough and set to rise (here is where I start to get some hope that this will go according to plan…my mistake)  3. Send a kid to get matzo meal because I’m a dumbass and forgot to get it at the store.  4.  Follow the recipe for matzo, and find that it does not work.  5.  Experiment for a while to see if anything makes it better.  6.  Nothing does.  7.  Bake matzo anyway just to see what happens then check the bread.  8.  Discover that bread has not risen AT ALL.  9.  Try to work with the bread anyway to see what happens (you know, the matzo method).  10.  End the day with some DISGUSTING matzo and some delicious, but very dense bread. 

Bread:

1 -1/3 C warm water

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

4 rounded cups flour

1 tsp active dry yeast

Dissolve salt and sugar into water and add yeast.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes until the mixture gets frothy.  Then add the butter to the mixture and slowly add flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and work the dough with your hands, adding more flour as you go.  Knead the bread until it is no longer sticky and is very elastic.  Form dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl.  Cover and place in a warm dark place to rise, hopefully, until it is double in size and looks a little spongy (about an hour).  I always proof my bread in a closed( and off) oven with a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven.  Punch the dough down and form into a loaf.  Let it rise again for about 30 minutes, then bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  You will know the bread is done when it is brown on top and sounds hollow when you tap it with your finger. 

You can also make it into rolls if you use a muffin tin.  Cut the dough into  small pieces, roll them into balls, dip them in melted butter and put three in a muffin cup.  Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Matzo:

Don’t.   Just don’t….  Its totally worth it to buy the box on this one. 

Although the kids did have fun with the dough and ended up making  their very own “Wilson” out of their left over matzo dough…

My life has never been so interesting…