This is a long post, bear with me, it is worth it! One of my lifesaving things is baking. Besides quilting, baking soothes the ragged heart and the savage beast. Plus, I am a bread girl! I don't care what anyone says - life without bread is not a life!
I am always looking for good bread recipes, and hubby and I also enjoy fresh local eggs as well so we keep on speed dial, the egg guy! It turns out that our egg guy is also a bread guy and has shared with me his "goose egg bread" recipe.
Meet Father Kamilos. Greek Orthodox, farmer, bread maker, friend and teacher! An amazing, and very caring and non-judgmental man. One of the least judgmental people I have ever met - even though he is a "Father" in the religious sense of the word. Doesn't matter what religion you might be, he doesn't judge, try to change you, and he sees the good. Gentle and kind, he has the kind of energy that draws all ages of people to him and his soft words. He is also mostly deaf, so the fact that he speaks softly is really another part of his gifts.
He doesn't just raise chickens, he also has ducks, geese, turkey, and I think goats? Might have had a donkey at one point in time! The adventures of the K's Farm are often hilarious. I so enjoy the stories about all of the animals and the people there. He occasionally has extra goose eggs and I have had the good fortune to be able to get some of them.
Above photo shows three goose eggs in a bowl with a regular chicken egg. It is not a small chicken egg either - really is regular sized!
So....Father K has let us know that this is his last semester with us as a "regular teacher" as he has been called by his Bishop to go and travel and do good works out in the rest of the world, not just in our school building. I cried a little when I heard it, but then he gave me a little story to ponder while I bake my grief goose egg bread, from the recipe that he gave me.
Place 4 cups of flour in your mixing bowl and 2 heaping tsp. of yeast. Mix together dry.
Father K was a little disheartened when he had to choose to go away from the school and the people and the kids, and to put on his travelling hat and see more of the world. He and his wife went to speak with a friend (also a priest I believe), and his wife - Matcha, meaning "little mother".
Heat 1/2 c (one stick) butter, 1&1/4 C of milk (I use whole milk), 4 Tbsp sugar, and a teaspoon of salt until it reaches 120-130 degrees. I do this in the microwave in a 2 cup glass measuring cup, about 20 seconds at a time. If you do it for too long in the nuker it will scorch the milk.
I use a retractable battery powered thermometer to check the temp. The temperature is critical to make the bread raise correctly.
As "Matcha" listened to the pro's and con's of the leaving of the school, Matcha listened carefully, with a small smile on her face and a thoughtful look. She could tell Father K was sad about this calling, but also excited to be called and to serve.
When the milk mixture is the correct temperature, turn on the mixer and slowly pour the mixture into the dry. It will be very sticky and you may have to stop and scrape it back down into the bowl a time or two.
Once combined, break your goose egg (or four chicken eggs, or two duck eggs) into the glass measure and beat it up a little. This will also heat the eggs up a bit without cooking them!
Once that is done, pour the egg into the mixture while the mixer is going and let it mix well.
Matcha asked a few questions to see how serious Father K thought this situation was - she may have made them some tea.
Add enough flour to equal about 5 & 1/2 Cups, or to make a beautiful, slightly sticky dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is elastic and does not stick to your hands (3-5 minutes).
There is always a tricky part to every story and to every loaf of bread, and for me and bread it is getting it to raise right.
So I use the tools I have and create the heat where I need it. I heat up water in the cast iron skillet and put my glass raising bowl into the water. It holds the heat for long enough to raise the bread without "par cooking it"
Matcha gave Father K a look and began.....
Put the ball of beautiful dough into the raising bowl and cover with a warm, damp tea towel. Let raise until double - in my house that is about 2 hours.
"Peter", (Father K's first name), Matcha said, "Sometimes we are called to do things we do not wish to do, or that we are reluctant to do, but we must do them with a smiling face and a cheerful heart. That is all it takes to make good things happen!"
Once the first raise is done, divide the dough into three equal pieces, and roll each into a rectangle about 1" thick. Then starting from one of the short sides, roll the dough into a "cinnamon roll" style roll and put them into your bread pans. Cover the loaves with a damp towel and let them rise again until they have filled the pans and are over the top a bit. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
A "smile and a cheerful heart". That is all it takes......
There are only two loaves here, yes, I saved the third to make some cinnamon rolls. This dough works beautifully for that as well!
Fill a small pan or an oven safe bowl with water. I use my mini loaf pan. Set it in with the loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and then enjoy with a smile and a cheerful heart!
For those who are still with me - and now that we have solved the worlds problems, I am putting the whole recipe below so you can copy and paste if you would like. The above with the story is for the half recipe.
Egg Bread
Full Recipe:
9 1/2 - 10 1/2 C all purpose flour
2 Pkg (41/2 tsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 C Milk
6 Tbsp Sugar
2 scant tsp salt
4 eggs ( I am assuming these are regular chicken eggs)
Half Recipe:
4.5 - 5.5 C flour
2 heaping tsp yeast
1 1/4 C milk
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 chicken, 2 duck, or 1 goose egg
In a mixer bowl, combine 4 cups of the flour and the yeast.
Heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt together to 120-130 * F. Add to flour mixture and beat until combined. Add eggs and beat for 3 minutes.
Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in bowl, cover with wet tea towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide into three pieces. Roll one piece out into a rectangle shape, then roll up starting with short end. Place into greased 8"x4" bread pan. Repeat with remaining dough.
Cover loaf pans with wet tea towel and let rise in warm place until doubled. About 30 minutes.
Bake in preheated 350*F oven for 25-30 minutes or until nicely browned and the smell from the kitchen puts a smile on our face. Remove loaves and cool on wire rack.
Blessed be and may you have a smiling face and a cheerful heart always! Father K, you will be sorely missed when you are not subbing with us!
