English Muffin Bread & Apple Torte

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              FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Alan Withee for this:

If you see a fat man
Who's jolly and cute,
Wearing a beard
And a red flannel suit,

And if he is chuckling
And laughing away,
While flying around
In a miniature sleigh

With eight tiny reindeer
To pull him along,
Then let's face it...
Your eggnog's too strong!

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              TODAY'S RECIPES
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I have mentioned that my mother is an avid baker, and this recipe
has become one of her favorites for quick and easy yeast bread.
It was contributed by reader Kathy Ewing in the January 24, 2002
edition, and as she mentions at the end of the recipe, it makes
absolutely wonderful toast. Here is what Kathy wrote:

Here is my all-time favorite bread recipe. It takes one hour from
start to finish (bread-out-of-oven)! No kneading; no bread-making
machine. No kidding! (Throw everything together in a bowl and
then stick it in the pans.)

English Muffin Bread
(Makes 2 loaves)

2 cups milk*, scalded
1/2 cup water
5-6 cups white flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. sugar
2 pkgs. (or Tbs. or cakes) yeast
Cornmeal (any kind) for dusting pans and tops
of loaves, about 1/2 cup

The directions here will be for dry yeast that is quick-rising. (I
don't know how to modify for that wonderful cake or moist yeast.)
Preheat oven to 400F(or 205C). Scald the milk and water until
it's a bit hot on your inner wrist (110 Fahrenheit or 42C). Grease
very well 2 regular U.S. loaf pans, 9 x 5 x 3 inches, and dust with
cornmeal.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together about 3 cups of flour, the salt,
sugar, soda, and yeast. (That's right: the quick-rising dry yeast
goes in dry with the flour.) Add the hot milk/water all at once and
beat until mixed. Add the remaining flour slowly, but you should
NOT have regular bread dough: the results should be something
like a stiff batter. I use the lesser amount of flour.

"Pour" immediately into the prepared bread pans and dust tops
with cornmeal. Cover with a light, dry cloth and let rise until
almost double in bulk (about 20 minutes for quick-rising yeast;
twice that for regular yeast). Bake in a fully preheated oven for
25 minutes. IMMEDIATELY remove from pans and let cool on a
rack. If you slice while hot, cover the cut end immediately with
foil in order to prevent a gummy core.

Freezes well; makes terrific toast; tastes great with cream
cheese and/or jam. I make one-and-a-half recipes and do 3
loaves at one time.

* Surprisingly, this tastes great even made with skim or powdered
milk! (I normally don't touch that kind of milk!)

This unusual recipe became a family favorite immediately after
it originally appeared in the Pen-Pal Forum on March 14, 2003.
Here is how Bobbi in Massachusetts introduced this delicious
dish:

I can't remember where I got this recipe - may have even been
from here. If it was it deserves another printing. This is so good!
I use it for breakfast or dessert. The first time I made it I was
having a marathon baking session and had both vanilla and
almond extract out on the counter. I ended up using almond
extract by mistake. Having made it both ways I think almond
extract wins out. Just be sure to use it in place of all the vanilla
extract.

Apple Torte

Crust
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups peeled, thin apple slices (Granny Smiths are great)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Crust: Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla; blend in flour. Spread
mixture over bottom and 1-1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch
springform pan.

Filling: Cream cheese and sugar; blend in egg and vanilla.
Spread mixture evenly over crust.

Topping: Combine sugar and cinnamon; toss apples in mixture.
Spread over cheese layer. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven
temperature to 400; bake 25 minutes longer. Loosen from pan
rim and cool before removing from pan.

(I've never used a full 4 cups of apples. They end up being too thick
a layer and make it hard to cut. I usually use 2 apples, sliced
thinly and laid out in concentric rings to make it look nice. Then I
sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the top. Looks nice, is easy to
cut and not as messy to eat.)
Received on Mon Dec 25 21:55:48 2006