Every few years my family spends part of our summer in a small, rustic, cabin in the San Juan Islands. The cabin was built by my grandfather and great grandfather, the roof replaced by my parents while my mom was pregnant, and the upkeep done by everyone else in the family. The scenery in the San Juan Islands is breathtaking as the islands are located in the Pacific Northwest, between Washington State and Canada. Our cabin is located on one of the smallest and most rural of the islands, Shaw Island; complete with a ferry dock, a post office and a general store. We spend out time leisurely, we catch our own crab for dinner from the water in front of our property and we make every recipe possible with the buckets of fresh blackberries we pick.
Each time we pack up our lives in California to head to Shaw we go with the intent of unplugging. At the cabin there is no cell service, no wifi, and no cable. And it is the best reminder of how important it is to separate ourselves from our devices. I find myself actually finishing books (which if you know me, you know I never do), spending time strolling together on our beach or going for a walk alone in the woods sans cell phones, sans social media, sans technology. I also usually take a few projects to work on… this year my dad and I decided we wanted to make home made bread together! And after island hopping to get all of the necessary ingredients we crafted the most delicious home made bread.
The recipe is really quite simple.
Egg Twist Bread
Makes two loaves
Ingredients:
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages RED STAR QUICK RISE Yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs, slightly beaten (reserve 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon water
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixer bowl, combine 3 of the cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well.
In a saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup water and butter until warm not melted. Add this to the flour mixture. Add the eggs next. Blend on low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make the dough firm. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, for approximately 5-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top an bottom. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 12 inch square. Cut 4 strips that are 3 inches wide each. Twist two of the strips together and place them in a greased 9×5-inch bread pan. Repeat with the other two strips to form the second loaf.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Combine egg reserve and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush over the loaves. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool.
Have your butter and blackberry jam ready to eat with a steaming piece of bread…