Sunday, November 14, 2010

Lemon Bowknots: A Sweet Yeast Bread Recipe

As I prepare to attend a free demo on sweet yeast breads with King Arthur Flour, I decided that I needed some experience with them!  So, I chose a pretty basic recipe for Lemon Bowknots that starts with a simple dough and is dressed up with style and icing (yum!). This recipe can be found in the Better Homes and Gardens: Complete Book of Baking.  It brought in rave reviews with my kind taste testers last night.


Step 1: Gather ingredients (though, my real step one was clean the crazy messy kitchen!)


Step 2: Heat Milk, Butter, and Sugar over medium heat until butter is almost melted and temperature is about 120F. 


Step 3: Mix half of the flour with the yeast, add in heated liquids and combine with your electric mixer on slow.  Then mix on high for three minutes - this really starts the yeast working.


Step 4:  Gently stir in lemon zest.



Step 5: Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.


Step 6: Knead 6 - 8 minutes - until dough forms a nice smooth ball (Isn't it amazing how this happens?):




Step 7: Place in an oiled bowl and cover to let rise.


The dough should double in about one hour.


Step 8: Pound down risen dough and split in half.


Step 9: Roll each half into approximately a 10 x 12 inch rectangle and cut into 1 inch wide strips.  I found that my pizza cutter did this extremely well!


Step 10: Very gently tie each strip into a loose knot.


Step 11: Arrange knots on baking sheets about 3 inches apart. And bake at 375F for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.


Step 12: Let them cool on wire racks.


Step 13: Prepare icing, drizzle and enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. Dad and I are wondering why we were not taste testers?

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  2. Oh my goodness! Those look delicious.

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  3. I second the "Oh my goodness!" Those look delightful. We need to hurry and visit you guys so I can try some of this food! Surely you have way too many for the three of you - do you take any to work with you to share with James?

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  4. Wow, these look amazing (especially after the icing is added!).

    Do I see vintage Pyrex bowls at work there?

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