St. Mark's Communion Bread Recipe

Yield: one loaf

Ingredients

yeast  

scant 1 packet, 5 grams 

water, warm 

3/4 cup

bread flour 

1 pound, about 3 cups, plus a little more for kneading

sugar 

1/4 cup

salt  

2 teaspoons Kosher, 1 1/2 teaspoons regular

eggs  

2, at room temperature

oil 

3 ounces

Procedure

By hand

Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water. Let yeast dissolve while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

Mix flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.

In a small bowl, beat the two eggs together, then mix in the oil. Give the yeast/water mixture a stir, then mix it into the egg/oil mixture.

Pour the combined liquid ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Gradually mix together, until the whole thing forms a "rough, shaggy mass."

Turn out the dough onto the counter. Knead 5 minutes, using as little additional flour as possible to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

When the dough is smooth "like a baby's bottom"  and feels like your earlobe, put the dough into the cleaned and oiled large bowl, cover with plastic and let rise until doubled in bulk.

(After the first rise and deflation, the dough can go in the refrigerator overnight. I got up about 3 am to pull it out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature. By 6 am it was warmed up, ready to be deflated and start on its second rise. Bread was baked and cooled enough to transport to church at 8:30 am.)

Deflate the dough gently and fold it over on itself several times. Turn the dough ball over again, so that the smooth side is on top. Cover and let rise again until double in bulk.

Deflate and fold the dough to make a ball with a smooth top. Place in a greased baking pan. Cover with plastic and let rise until almost double in bulk, but not quite.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely before wrapping in foil. Freeze immediately if not being used that day. Allow to thaw in the wrapper.

By mixer

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Combine wet ingredients following instructions above. Fit a dough hook into the machine, pour in the liquid ingredients, and mix with dough hook until dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Allow dough to rise twice, shape and bake, per the instructions above.

By bread machine

Follow bread machine instructions.