Sunday Brunch

Today's recipe is one that I am really happy to share with you. It came from a weekly feature in The Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas)  that I always looked forward to reading. As a student, I was exceptionally poor, so I found a multitude of ways to stretch my dollars, like making my own bread and going to the farmer's market and buying fresh vegetables that I either canned or froze. This bread recipe became a staple as there are very few ingredients so it is fairly inexpensive to make. Sadly, I cannot give the author credit as I wrote the recipe on an index card and neglected to include her name. 

The author of this column was a nutritionist and each week she would have recipes that were low in fat and calories and still, REALLY GOOD! This is one of my favorites. It's so quick and easy to make, so no doubt the name of the recipe is

Quick and Easy English Country Bread

1 package of dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt 

3 cups flour

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup skim milk

Stir yeast, sugar, salt and flour together and set aside. Add boiling water to cold milk in a bowl. Add half of the flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture to make a stiff batter. You will need to knead it a bit in order to combine the ingredients.

The original recipe says to turn the dough into a non-stick loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. I use a regular glass bread pan and I use olive oil to coat my pan. Do as you wish.  

Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Remove from pan and allow to cool.

Makes 20 thin slices (but who wants a thin slice?!), 70 calories each. Toast if desired.

This a recipe that you can play with, add chopped nuts, chopped fresh herbs. Experiment a bit. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do.