One of the best teachers I ever had in college, Judith Shaw, could make English history come alive. For instance, she introduced me to John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who gained the peerage when he was ten years old.
She said he was playing cards with friends in 1762 and didn’t want to stop to eat. Instead, he ordered some roast beef slapped between two slices of bread so he could eat his food while still gambling. The sandwich was born.
The Sandwich Islands were also named after him by explorer Captain John Cook when Montagu was First Lord of the Admiralty. He was criticized in that job because he didn’t have copper applied to all the ships sent to put down the revolt by those pesky colonists in North America.
Mrs. Shaw taught me that historic figures were also real people with ups and downs and rollercoaster lives. Montagu’s wife went insane, probably because he had a mistress who bore him between five and nine kids. History’s a little fuzzy on the number. His mistress was murdered in the Royal Opera House by another man she’d taken as a lover. That tabloid stuff rarely makes the history books, but Mrs. Shaw knew the skinny. She taught me that history repeats itself, and human nature doesn’t change.
I started thinking about the Earl of Sandwich because a few months ago I ran out of bread and didn’t want to go to the store, so I made a loaf. There’s nothing like that fresh taste. I’ve been baking bread ever since.
Like the earl, I have piled everything I have in the fridge on bread. Leftover spaghetti sauce and cheese? Sure, it’s a homemade pizza. Guacamole? Call it avocado toast. Hard-boiled eggs and green olives? You bet. Toasted with grated Parmesan sprinkled with red pepper. A kick. Leftover chili? Yummy. Anything can top homemade bread and it’s delicious.
Unlike the fourth Earl of Sandwich, I don’t eat the feast with my hands. Some of my concoctions are messy, plus my sandwiches are open-faced, using just one piece of bread. I use a knife and fork and cut my sandwiches into bites.
It only takes me 10 minutes to make bread, although with the rising and baking, the whole shebang takes about four hours. If you want to fill your house with the heavenly smell of baking bread, try this recipe a neighbor shared with me decades ago. Through the years, I’ve tweaked it a little and have added my tips for mixing it fast.
Homemade Bread
Dissolve
1 package dry yeast (Two teaspoons. I buy the big bag of yeast from Sam’s and freeze it so it lasts for a year.)
1/4 cup warm water (Too hot will kill the yeast, too cold and the yeast won’t rise.)
Add
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup milk (lukewarm from 30 seconds in the microwave)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
(At this point, I use a mixer for a half-minute to make sure the liquids are well mixed.)
Add
4 cups flour (I add 2 cups and beat the dough with a mixer for a minute. This really cuts down on the kneading time. Then I stir in the other two cups.)
Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. (Two minutes, tops.)
Put into an oiled bowl, cover with paper towels, and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. (I heat the oven to around 100 degrees, then Turn It Off, and put the dough in there to rise. I only forgot that Turn It Off step one time. A big mistake.)
Sock it down and place dough on parchment baking paper in a 9×13 pan. Makes an odd shaped loaf, but I like it that way. Cover, and let rise until double (again in the oven), about an hour.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Take out and baste the top with butter, then put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
Cool on rack. (Of course, I immediately slice off a piece for hot-out-of-the-oven bread.)
Bon Appetit. (And a tip of the hat to the impatient Johnny Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich.)
