Bread

I recently started a new job which requires me to be able to do cooking demonstrations so this month I have been practicing cooking. One of the ladies I work with said she encourages people to start by tackling bread because "if you can cook with yeast you can do anything." I have had a mini bread maker for a few years and I have had a little practice with yeast so I dove right in.
(These recipes are from USU Extension)

french bread
1/2 cup warm water
2 pkgs yeast
2 cups hot water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1/3 cup oil
6 cups flour
Combine warm water (1/2 cup) and yeast (2 pkgs); let stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl blend hot water (2 cups), sugar (3 Tbsp), salt (1 Tbsp) and oil (1/3 cup); let cool.
Add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth.
Add enough flour to make a soft dough that can be mixed with a spoon. (I had no idea what that meant!)
Leave spoon in batter and allow dough to rest 10 minutes.
Stir down and let dough rest again; repeat process every 10 minutes for 1 hour.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half; flatten into rectangles and roll up jelly-roll style.
Place on lightly greased baking sheets.
Brush tops with egg wash recipe.
With a sharp knife, slash tops diagonally 4-5 times.
Let rise until double (30 to 60 minutes).
Repeat egg wash. (Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.)
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until light brown.
Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

egg wash
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
Beat egg and oil with a fork until well blended and creamy.

I didn't love this bread. It had a good hard crust like it was suppose to and was pretty fluffy inside. I just think I didn't love the recipe but maybe I will give it another try. (I halved the recipe and still had tons of bread.)

bread sticks
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
In a large bowl combine warm water (1 1/2 cup), yeast (1 Tbsp) and sugar (2 Tbsp); let stand 10 minutes.
Add salt (1/2 cup) and 3 1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth.
Add enough remaining flour (1/2 cupish) to form a soft dough. (Once again, how do I know what that means?)
Turn dough out on lightly floured surface; knead 3 minutes.
Cover and allow to rest 10 minutes.
Coat a baking sheet with margarine.
Place dough in maddle of pan and press outward to edge of pan. Spread topping over dough.
With a dull knife score dough down middle and across.
Let rise until almost double (15-20 minutes).
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

bread stick spread
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Blend.

These were delish!! I loved them and ate them all up and was wishing I had made the whole recipe instead of half. I also didn't have anything on hand to make the topping so I just put butter, garlic salt (with parsley) and Parmesan cheese on them. Yummy!

In conclusion, these were pretty easy bread recipes. I think my previous experience with yeast helped. I learned some and am interested to try some other recipes. (My roommate has a recipes for Texas Roadhouse rolls she wants to try, it looks hard!) I did everything by hand and didn't use a mixer at all. It seemed easier that way, but with more dough that may be more overwhelming.