White Sandwich Bread

I made up this recipe this afternoon in hopes of a nice-textured and delicious flavored white sandwich bread that would hold up for school lunches.  If it works well, I will be modifying this to make a whole wheat version.  As usual, I have added my favorites: flax seed meal and fresh egg to pump up the nutrition.

Results:  Delicious and chewy with a nice texture perfect for sandwiches!

 White Sandwich Bread
Makes 2 loaves

2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 cup (8 oz) warm water
2 tablespoons fat of your choice (I used lard I had rendered previously, but my second choice would be coconut oil, however you can use butter or basic cooking oil as well.)
1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp salt (as you can see I cut WAY back on the salt compared to many bread recipes)

1 large egg

7 cups white flour

scant 1/2 cup ground flax seed meal

Pour the water into the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over top. Add sugar and stir until combined. Let this stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

 Stir in the milk, sugar, fat, flax, and salt. Stir together and add 4 cups flour gradually until dough is smooth and elastic. 

Add egg and another cup of flour, stir until well blended into a nice dough.  Depending on your altitude and humidity, you may need a little more or less flour.

Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. I use my Bosch mixer for this, but you can also do it by hand.  

Set dough in a warm location and raise until doubled, usually 45 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

Sprinkle a little flour on the counter and turn the dough out on top.   Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Grease two loaf pans and shape each ball of dough into two loaf shapes.  Cover with a cloth and let raise for another 30 minutes or until doubled again.

Heat the oven to 425° F about halfway through the second rise.

Slash the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife and put them in the oven.  Brush tops with beaten egg white for a shiny artisan look.  

 Immediately turn down the heat to 375°F and bake for 30-35 minutes.  

Pork Adobo

I have been searching recipes for Adobo Chicken/Pork and none I found online seem to do justice to what I remember my Filipino friend serving.  So I decided to take a crack at what I remember. 

Yield: 5 servings, plus leftovers

5 pork chops
1 tbs coconut or peanut oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
 4 large green chilies
2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
3 tbs fresh minced garlic
2 bay leaves
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
pinch of sugar

Heat oil in large, deep skillet or dutch oven.  Cook pork chops until browned on both sides.  Remove from skillet.  Using a fork, "scrub" the pan to pull up all the crispy bits.  Add soy sauce,  chopped vegetables garlic and bay leaves.  Simmer until onions are soft.  Return pork to pan and add vinegar and sugar.   Simmer until pork is falling apart and sauce has thickened.  Add pepper to taste.  Serve over brown rice.