I want to thank the publisher of the Amish Community Cookbook for sending me a copy at no charge for my honest review. I am sharing a recipe for English Muffin Bread from the cookbook.
About the Book:
Discover Real Comfort Food with these Authentic Country Recipes
Filled with favorite recipes gathered from Amish cooks across the United States and Canada, Amish Community Cookbook will have you preparing delicious, down-to-earth dishes your family will request again and again.
The Amish people are renowned for their rich agricultural heritage, strong community spirit, and good old-fashioned, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. This treasury of beloved recipes expresses their close connection to the land and reliance on fresh, natural ingredients.
The Amish Community Cookbook offers an endless array of traditional appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, casseroles, breads, and desserts. Beyond the delicious, hearty taste, this is food that offers something to nourish the soul. One taste and you’ll see why these recipes have been bringing families and communities together at the table for generations.
A Sampling of Amish Favorites:
- Apple Dumplings
- Baked Corn
- Barn Raising Dinner
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Brown Butter Noodles
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Corn Soup With Rivels
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Pork and Sauerkraut
- Red Beet Eggs
- Red Velvet Cake
- -Wet Bottom- ShooFly Pie
About the Authors:
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)is a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace. MCC serves in more than fifty countries around the world, reaching out to those who have been struck by war, famine, and natural disaster by providing food and other aid. Each year, Mennonite relief sales raise close to five million dollars for the support of MCC’s relief efforts around the world. Almost all of the recipes in this book were collected from relief sales, and include some of the favorite dishes from those events.
My Opinion:
This is a fun, basic cookbook. It takes me back to my Philadelphia roots. You are not going to find any fancy food in this cookbook. You are going to find easy, wholesome, old fashioned recipes. It’s also not exactly a low fat cookbook either but that is half the fun of these kinds of cookbooks - at least for me. It takes me back to my childhood and to the foods that my mother used to cook.
The recipes are sometimes not as well written as you might find in other cookbooks and it is helpful to have some cooking experience but that doesn’t mean that a new cook wouldn’t be able to muddle through - it’s more a matter of experience; for example - in the bread recipe I show you below the bread is put on to rise for 45 minutes and the next step tells you to bake it at 375°. Nowhere does it leave the time to preheat the oven. So without the experience you are left with risen loaves and a cold oven. Or your oven is sitting hot for 45 minutes if you thought you needed to preheat it at the beginning. A silly thing I know but as I noted - experience.
There are sections for soups, appetizers, canning, casseroles, main dishes, breads, desserts and sweets. There are also a lot of little tips and tricks all throughout the book as well as plenty of stunning photos of Amish/Mennonite country. At the beginning of the book is a delightful introduction about the history and lifestyle of the Amish.
I’ve tried a few recipes from the book since I’ve had it including Honey Wheat Bread and a very tasty Applesauce cake. There are several others that I’m looking forward to trying as summer comes on and I have fresh vegetables. Not to mention all of the tasty looking pickle recipes. I’m glad I have this book in my collection. I always say with a cookbook if I get one or two really good recipes I’m happy and I’ve found them already with this one!
Rating:
4.5
English Muffin Bread
Makes two loaves
5 cups flour, divided
2 packages yeast
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups warm milk
1 cup water
cornmeal
Grease two loaf pans and dust with cornmeal.
Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and baking soda.
Add the milk and water
Beat on low for 30 seconds, then beat on high for 3 minutes (with a stand mixer use medium high as high will cause a bit of an explosion out of the bowl. Don’t ask me how I know this. But I will note that it is amazing how far a liquidy dough can travel. Ah-hem)
Stir in the remaining flour. It will be a stiff, sticky dough. Do not knead.
Divide the dough between the two pans and dust the tops with cornmeal. (I place the loaf pan on a kitchen scale and weigh the dough so I know the loaves will be equal.)
Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes
About half an hour into the rising preheat the oven to 375°
Bake the loaves in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
Immediately remove from the pans
How was the English Muffin Bread?
This has become my new favorite bread. It tastes just like an English muffin! The note on the recipe says it’s best served as toast and this is very true. Just like English muffins it needs two runs through the toaster to be done just right.
It is delicious with butter on it and served with eggs (my dinner last night - the hubby was out.) It’s fantastic with peanut butter, which I have for lunch quite often and very tasty with avocado on top as well. This bread might be at it’s best with a bit of butter and some jam; I like my homemade strawberry cherry jam personally. I’m also thinking of using it to make eggs Benedict. Mmmm. So much easier than making actual English muffins but just as delicious.
I did learn that it’s not wise to double the recipe - don’t ask.
Just.Don’t.Ask.
I’ve made it several times since my first and I suspect I’ll always have a loaf in my freezer. It’s very yummy. Since I usually have some kind of bread at lunch I will add this into rotation with my homemade bagels and the challah that I love to make.
PrintEnglish Muffin Bread
A loaf of bread that tastes just like English muffins
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
- Category: bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Amish
Ingredients
- 5 cups flour, divided
- 2 packages yeast
- 1 TBS sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups warm milk
- 1 cup water
- cornmeal
Instructions
- Grease two loaf pans and dust with cornmeal.
- Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and baking soda.
- Add the milk and water
- Beat on low for 30 seconds, then beat on high for 3 minutes (with a stand mixer use medium high as high will cause a bit of an explosion out of the bowl. Don’t ask me how I know this. But I will note that it is amazing how far a liquidy dough can travel. Ah-hem)
- Stir in the remaining flour. It will be a stiff, sticky dough. Do not knead.
- Divide the dough between the two pans and dust the tops with cornmeal.
- Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes
- About half an hour into the rising preheat the oven to 375°
- Bake the loaves in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
- Immediately remove from the pans
Notes
Do not double
Prep time includes rise time
Keywords: English muffin bread, Amish baking
