Fresh bread

Fall is the season when baking starts to make sense again. And there is nothing like making yeast bread to make you feel like you've really done some baking.

Now, the problem with yeast bread is that it takes time. To which I say: Suck it up, folks! OK, it's a bit of a project, but you get a triple pay-off: the smell of yeasty bread wafting through your house, great taste, and a chance to impress the pants off of friends and family. And, truth be known, the dough itself does most of the work -- you just have to return to the scene every few hours to slap it around a bit.

The recipes below are simple enough for anyone who has never attempted yeast bread, and delicious enough to make experienced bakers happy. The Vanilla Bread is from "The Ballymaloe Bread Book," (Pelican Publishing Co., 2002), by Tim Allen, instructor/owner of the famed Ballymaloe Cooking School in Ireland. The second, for Easy White Bread, is from "River Run Cookbook" (HarperCollins, 2001), written by Jimmy and Maya Kennedy and myself.

If you've never made yeast bread before, here is a very brief guide:

As far as ingredients, you can get fancy, but you don't have to. Active dry yeast (sold in 1/4-ounce packets) in the supermarket is fine, or use fresh "cake" yeast sold in 1-ounce lumps in specialty stores. For both of these recipes, all-purpose flour or bread flour works well -- try to buy unbleached flour.

When it comes to equipment, if you have a fancy electric mixer with a dough hook, fine. But all you need for mixing and kneading is a bowl, a wooden spoon, your hands and a flat work surface. For actual baking, you'll need loaf pans or cookie sheets.

(For ingredients and equipment, check out the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue, (800) 827-6836.

Mouth-watering fresh-baked bread recipes

VANILLA BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTER

For the chocolate butter:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

For the bread:

1 vanilla bean pod

3/4 cup milk

1-1/2 tablespoons (two 1/4-ounce packets) active dry yeast or 1 ounce fresh cake yeast

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

4-1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached white flour (preferably bread flour) plus more for flouring work surface

vegetable oil, for coating bowl

Make the butter: Melt the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over, not in, simmering water. Remove from heat, add the salt, vanilla and sugar, and beat until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Refrigerate until firm, but serve at room temperature.

Make the bread: Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod lengthwise, and scrape the tiny black beans into the milk. Put the pod in as well. Scald the milk (heat to almost boiling), and let sit, with the vanilla bean, until just warm.

Remove the vanilla pod and discard (the black beans will still be floating in the milk; that's good). Place the yeast in a large mixing bowl, and pour the warm milk over it.

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the sugar, salt, vanilla and 4 tablespoons of the flour. Beat briskly for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and start to knead the dough When it becomes smooth and elastic, put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap, and let rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down, and turn out on to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into two pieces. Shape into free-form loaves, and place on 2 lightly oiled baking sheets.

Cover and let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. When cooled, the loaves will sound hollow when tapped.

Yield: 2 loaves

-- Recipe from "The Ballymaloe Bread Book" by Tim Allen (Pelican Publishing Co., 2002)

EASY WHITE BREAD

2-1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1-1/2 tablespoons (two 1/4-ounce packets) active dry yeast

6 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring work surface

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

vegetable oil, for coating bowl

Scald the milk (heat it to almost boiling), and stir in the maple syrup. Allow the mixture to cool until it is just warm, but not hot. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, and let it bubble for about 10 minutes. Add 3 cups of flour, mix, and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes more.

Add the melted butter and the salt, and the remaining 3 cups flour, working with a spoon or your hands, as needed. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead a little bit — 3 or 4 minutes is fine, and longer is fine, too. Scrape out the bowl, coat it with a little oil, and put the dough back in. Cover with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap, and allow it to rise until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down, knead it for about a minute, and divide it into 2 greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Cover with clean dish towels and let rise another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the bread 35 to 40 minutes, or until loaves are golden and the bread sounds hollow when you tap on it.

Yield: 2 loaves

Recipe from "River Run Cookbook," by Jimmy and Maya Kennedy and Marialisa Calta (HarperCollins, 2001)