Zweiback Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and sugar; let rise.
• Scald milk and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine milk, butter, yeast and salt.
• Beat in enough flour to make a stiff batter.
• Add more flour to make a smooth soft dough.
• Knead well.
• Cover and let rise until dough doubles in bulk.
• Form buns the size of a large walnut.
• Place a smaller bun on top of a larger one, and press down firmly with one finger so that the two stick together.
• Place on a greased pan.
• Let rise until doubled in bulk.
• Bake in 350 F oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, salt, shortening, milk and yeast mixture. Beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic about 6-8 minutes. Dough will be soft. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. Divide three of the pieces into eight pieces each; shape into smooth balls and place on greased baking sheets. Divide remaining dough into 24 balls. Press 1 small ball atop each larger ball. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden, 28-32 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine milk and shortening; stir to melt shortening. When cool, add sugar and salt. Stir in yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide into fourths. Divide three of the pieces into eight pieces each; shape into smooth balls and place on greased baking sheets. Divide the fourth piece of dough into 24 small balls. Make an indentation in the top of each larger ball; press one small ball atop of each larger ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Heat milk in a small saucepan until just starting to bubble. Remove from heat; stir in butter, honey and salt. Set aside and let cool. Set aside 2 teaspoons sugar. Stir remaining sugar into milk mixture. Let cool to room temp.
• In a large bowl, combine yeast and lukewarm water. Set aside 5 minutes for yeast to soften. Beat cooled milk mixture, egg, 4 cups flour, and nutmeg into yeast mixture.
• Knead dough in a bowl, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if necessary, until a smooth, soft dough forms. Divide dough into 8 balls 3 inches in diameter. Place balls 4 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets; pat into 4 inch rounds. Brush tops of rounds with water and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Set aside, lightly covered with kitchen towels, about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Bake raised rounds 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven; leave oven on. Let cool on sheets 10-15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
• With a serrated knife, cut each round into six 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheets and return to oven for 5 minutes. Turn slices and bake 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until golden on both sides. Turn off heat and leave in unopened oven until cool, about 45 minutes. Store in tightly covered container.

Steps:

• Stir together 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, the yeast and 2 tablespoons lukewarm milk in a small bowl; let the mixture foam and bubble.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining milk and sugar and the butter, just until the butter melts.
• Let the mixture cool to 100° to 105°F, or until barely warm.
• Combine the milk mixture and the yeast mixture in a large bowl.
• Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and beat in the egg.
• Mix in the unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• When the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the remaining flour to form a smooth, elastic dough, just slightly on the slack side; this should take 5 to 10 minutes. Note: This dough is also easily prepared using your bread machine's dough cycle, or with the aid of an electric mixer (knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes).
• Lightly grease a large bowl, place the dough inside, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until it's doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch the dough down, knead it briefly on a lightly floured work surface to remove large air bubbles, and divide it in half. Roll the pieces with your hands to form two 12-inch long cylindrical loaves.
• If the dough resists rolling, let it rest, covered, for several minutes; when you return, you should find the gluten relaxed and the task much easier.
• Place the loaves on a well-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them.
• Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let them rise until they've almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven until it's golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the loaves reads 190°F.
• Cool overnight, uncovered, on a wire rack.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 200°F With a serrated knife, cut the loaves diagonally into slices about 1/2-inch thick.
• Place the slices, close together, on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets and bake them until they're completely dry, about 1 hour.
• Increase the oven temperature to 300°F and bake the slices until they're lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes, turning them halfway through the baking time to check their progress and prevent over-browning. Cool on wire racks.
• When thoroughly cooled, these will keep for many weeks in an airtight container.
• Note: For a sweeter zwieback, we melted 4 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and brushed the mixture onto one side of the cut slices before baking them, which took 10 to 15 minutes longer because of the extra moisture.

Steps:

• In sm bowl, combine yeast,1/2 tsp sugar, warm water. Set in warm place until mixture foams, 5/10 minutes. In small saucepan, mix milk, remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Add 4 Tbs butter, heat until butter has melted. Transfer mixture to bowl and cool to lukewarm. In large bowl or in food processor, combine cooled milk mixture with yeast mixture, stir in vanilla. Add mace, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well. Beat in egg. Slowly add flour, adding just enough to make a smooth dough that is not sticky. If mixing by hand, dough will become too stiff to stir, knead in the last of flour with fingers. Knead well for at least 5 minutes, forming the dough into a ball. If using a food processor, pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. Place the dough in large, lighly oiled bowl and turn it over to coat all sides. Cover with a damp towel and set dough in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Punch dough down and knead a few strokes. Cover and allow dough to double in size again, 30 to 45 minutes. Punch dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead about 30 seconds to remove air. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. With your hands, roll each into a smooth cylinder or loafs about 2" thick and 9" long. Place loaves on a lighly greased leaving at least 3" between the loaves. Brush all exposed surfaces with melted butter. Place baking sheet in a warm place, let loaves rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake risen loaves for 25 to 30 minutes or until bottoms are reddish brown and make a hollow sound when thumped. Allow to cool on racks. Preheat oven to 200F. Cut the colled loaves into 1/2" slices. Places slices flat on baking sheet and allow them to dry out in oven for 45/60 minutes or until dry. Check occasionally, turn slices over when dry on one side. When dry, raise oven temp to 300F for 10 to 20 minutes to brown slightly.