Cha Siu Bao

When I was a teenager I attempted making cha siu bao from scratch. It was a full day task and after all that effort they came out terrible. Full of long scallion pieces (which should have been a warning sign in the recipe to me). Baba found the best frozen variety and I never tried again. But it's hard to find a good one here so I decided to try this again, but this time starting with store bought cha siu. Neither of these recipes is perfect, but it's a starting point to try to figure out what to tweak to get it better for next time.

Red House Spice Recipe - ** - 14 buns
27 Jan 2026 - I started with this one because the dough was quick to make. However, the filling was way too goopy. After filling 4 buns, I chopped up a lot more pork and tossed it in. The recipe asked for 130g of cha siu, but it needed about 200 g for the amount of sauce. I ran out of grapeseed oil part way, so subbed in less than 1 T olive oil. I used regular flour instead of cake flour (perhaps the dough would have been better with cake flour). But in the end, the bread was not sweet like I think a cha siu bao should be, so I would not use this dough recipe again. The folds also all disappeared into each other while sitting to rise. The filling tasted too salty, but then when compared to the next recipe, XBD thought this filling was better. My judgement is reserved for when I do a side by side taste test (I put some of each batch in the freezer to compare later). However, I do like that the shallot (which I used instead of onion) was used just to flavor the sauce, but was not kept in.

Woks of Life Recipe - *** - 10 large buns
28 Jan 2026 - This dough was a pleasure to work with, came out much fluffier and cracked closer to a restaurant style one. It was noticeably sweeter than the first recipe (which makes sense since it has 5 T of sugar instead of just 2). The buns came out huge! I would divide into 12-14 next time instead of just 10, just to have a smaller size. I also couldn't fit in all the filling. The filling still came out too salty. Try reducing the salty items (soy, oyster and/or chicken stock?).

Next attempt

- woks of life dough
- no onion/shallot in filling (only use to flavor the sauce)
- less saltiness
- less sauce:pork ratio
- improve flavor - figure out what is missing or too much

Garlic Fingers with Donair Sauce

I needed a Canadian recipe for an International Festival so found this Nova Scotia snack, that east coasters know about. Easy filler, but better served warm from the oven.

• pizza dough
• garlic powder or minced garlic
• butter
• black pepper
• oregano
• 4 c mozzarella, shredded
• optional: 1 c parmesan, grated
• Sauce
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz), 1 T garlic powder, 6 T white vinegar
• 300 g sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 c vinegar, garlic powder to taste (at least 1/4 t)

1. Sauce: Mix all in a closable container. Don't overmix. Just incorporate everything and let it rest. Let it sit in the fridge until ready to use. Mix and use as dip.
2. Fingers: Spread dough in 2 pans. Cover with seasoned garlic-butter mixture. Top with cheese. Bake 425F for 20-25 min or until cheese is melted, bubbly and light brown. Cut into fingers (thin slices)

Sweet Dough Shapes

Used the food processor recipe for sweet dough, using the dough blade. Divided into thirds for 3 people to make cinnamon sugar filled treats of their own choosing. Fun project with kids, rolling pins and pastry cutter.

• 
  ~3 c flour (max 500 g)
• 1 packet yeast
• 220 ml milk
• 1 egg
• pinch salt
• 80 g sugar (1/4 c)
• 60 g butter
• optional: grated rind of half a lemon

1. Put everything but milk in food processor. 
2. Mix at low speed for 10 seconds.
3. Add the milk and mix at low for ~1.5 min. When dough is smooth, place in a warm location to rise. (Add additional flour but do not exceed capacity of processor)
4. After doubled, either shape or punch down and rise again.
5. Divide and shape. Fill with cinnamon-sugar-butter mixture, fruit, or nuts.
6. Let rise ~10-30 min. Coat with egg wash.
7. Bake at 350F/160C until lightly browned.

Related

Cinnamon Buns - also made of Sweet Dough
Animal Bread - dough used to make shapes

Coconut Buns

This is another great recipe from The Joys of Baking. I use maple syrup instead of the golden syrup called for (not an ingredient available here) in the filling and always skip the sweet wash. It bakes up beautifully and tastes great.  

9/13/22

9/15/22
5/16/23 Egg white wash (looks better with whole egg)
1/29/24 Forgot the maple syrup in the filling until over halfway through stuffing. Added a squeeze to remainder of filling and they all still tasted good. Also ran out of coconut oil so substituted butter for greasing the pan and sunflower oil in the bread.

Mantou

DBD has been asking for mantou (Chinese steamed buns) all year so finally got around to making them on a 30+ degree day, choosing this over cookies so I wouldn't have to turn the oven on. I tried 2 recipes - one a quick one using baking powder, and one with only yeast and a rolling method. I liked the rolling method better, and the kids each liked a different flavor better. DBD liked the one with less sugar. The amounts in brackets were from the first recipe. The second dough came out a bit too sticky so I would adjust next time.

• 
  350 g flour [250 g]
  
• 1 c milk (or soy milk or water) [130 ml lukewarm water]
• 1 t yeast [same]
• 2.5 T sugar [1 T]
• [3/4 t baking soda]

1. Add milk, yeast and sugar in bowl of mixer. Stir.
2. Add the flour. Set to speed 1 to knead for 6 min. (Adjust flour or milk as necessary)
3. Transfer dough out of bowl and cover for 5 min.
4. On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 10"x14" rectangle.
5. Roll the short way, making a tight log. Roll out a bit more to smooth it out to 12".
6. Cut into 8 equal pieces using a serrated knife. Transfer each to parchment piece. (Optional: roll each piece into ball)
7. Place in steamer and let rise for 1 hour, until dough is expanded.
8. Steam for 10-12 min.

Sunshine Wreath aka Citrus Twist

This is my favorite recipe so far from Samantha Seneviratne's cookbook, Joys of Baking. Its warm yellow spiral design and wonderful fragrance can't help but bring a smile to my face.

The first few times I made it, I did it by hand. Truly a labor and I couldn't help add a bunch of flour because it was so gloppy after adding the butter. Now that I have a stand mixer, it's so easy to just let the machine do the work and the butter eventually gets worked in without having to add more flour (or feeling like I'm going to injure my arm from the intense kneading). I even made 2 doughs in the same day (saving one to bake a couple days later).

DBD watched the video on how to make it and caught that you can use the spread on toast as well, and  made sure to save some the last time we made it (in fact, DBD and XBD made the filling together while I lay on the couch). 

8/22/23 Made this for a summer gathering. Still a personal favorite.

Flower Bread

This was a fun new shape to experiment with. However it results in a GIANT bread - which due to a pandemic lockdown, I had no one outside our household to share it with. I would not recommend making it for a single family. I also wanted to make a plain or savory bread, having baked many sweets the previous days. However, I had a small amount of cinnamon-sugar mixture leftover from the swirl cookies, so sprinkled this on the very outer edge. This ended up being my favorite part - which maybe speaks more to my sweet tooth than actually being a better option.

• the recipe is from: https://www.talesfromthekitchenshed.com/2015/08/flower-bread/
• but I used olive oil instead of rapeseed oil, and butter instead of spray. I also topped with black pepper, coarse salt, and thyme instead of sunflower seeds (but still had sesame seeds in the middle), as well as a cinnamon-sugar mixture on the very outer edge.
• Shaping was challenging - perhaps due to the wetness of my dough or the butter instead of spray, the dough layers tended to stick to each other when I flipped them over. Some of them I was able to separate, and some I left as a clump. I think if you can separate them, you can make a nicer layout. 
• I baked it on a 13" round pizza stone (covered in foil) - which was JUST big enough to fit this bread, considering that it gets bigger after rising. A larger pan would have been ok too.

This was fun to make once but I would probably not make again. Cinnamon Star Bread is still a favorite, and there are some other fun shapes I'd like to try first.

Cinnamon Knots

I wanted a yeast bread recipe that doesn't take too long to bake in the oven. Many of my go to ones take an hour which is just too long to have the heat on for in the summer. I found this one which only takes 10 min to bake. They turned out dangerously delicious.
Jan '23 Have made this many times over the years.

• 1/4 c butter
• 1 c milk
• 2 T yeast
• 2 T maple syrup (if you don't have any, can substitute sugar/honey)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 egg
• ~3 c flour
• dip: 1/4 c butter, 1/2 c sugar, 3 t cinnamon

1. Heat the butter in a small pan. When almost melted, add milk. Stir until it reaches 100-110 F. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine yeast and syrup. Pour in butter mixture.
3. Add salt and egg.
4. Add 2.5 c flour. Add flour until dough doesn't stick to sides of bowl. Knead for 5 minutes.
5. Divide into 12 pieces.
6. Melt butter in shallow bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl (I used a pie plate).
7. Roll each piece into 8" long rope. Dip in butter, then in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Tie into a knot. Finish by joining two ends and flip over. Place all 12 knots onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Let rest for 10 min.
9. Bake at 400F for 9-12 min.
10. Let cool and enjoy warm!

Apple Tea Bread

I was craving an apple bread that was fun to make - found a recipe for tea bread and adapted it with an apple filling.

• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/4 c water
• 1/8 c butter
• 1 egg
• 2.5 c flour
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• Wash: 1 egg + 1 T water
• Filling: 2 apples, 1/3 c sugar, 1/2 t cinnamon, cornstarch or flour

1. Place dough ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
2. Prepare filling
1. Dice the apples. 
2. Cook over low heat with sugar and cinnamon for 10 min.
3. Add cornstarch or flour to thicken sauce.
4. Let cool.
3. Roll dough out to 12"x15". Spread filling. Roll long end.
4. Place on parchment paper into circle shape.
5. Use scissors to make cuts 1" apart, 1" from center, all around.
6. Optional: turn the cut slices to the side.
7. Cover with cloth for 30 min.
8. Brush with egg wash.
9. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min until golden brown.
10. Enjoy warm or cooled.

Baked Apple Donut Shapes

I had a craving for doughnuts but don't like deep frying things so found this baked recipe from my to try list (from 10 years ago!). Substituted butter for the olive oil and almond flour for the wheat germ and it turned out just fine. I think a filling of sauted cubed apples might make it more appley - as is it is more like just a cinnamon donut. 
6/27/20 I wanted more apple oomph so this time sauted an additional 2 c diced apples with sugar+cinnamon to scoop in as a filling.

• 1 c milk
• 3 T butter
• 1/4 c almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1 t salt
• 3 T brown sugar
• 2 apples, grated (what would it be like if they were diced?)
• 3 3/4 c flour
• 2.5 t cinnamon
• 1 t ginger
• 2.5 t yeast
• topping: butter, cinnamon, sugar

1. Combine main ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
2. Move to floured surface.
• Roll out to about 1/2" thick. Cut out ~14 shapes using cookie cutters.
• Take munchkin size balls and roll for donut holes.
• Make larger donuts as flattened balls.
• Make hole donuts by poking thumb through ball and making very large hole, to account for increase in size from rising during rest time and bake time.
• Roll out to 1/4" thick. Cut out circle shape. Place on prepared sheet (as below). Add 1 tsp of diced apple filling. Cover with additional 1/4" circle. Seal edges.
3. Place shapes on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
4. Let rise for 30 minutes.
5. Bake for 15 min (or until browned) at 350F.
6. While hot, melt butter on surface and then dip in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
7. Let cool on rack. Enjoy warm or for snack later.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

We haven't been able to buy cinnamon raisin bagels from Metro grocery store in weeks. Tried making it from scratch using the bread machine. This came out ok - a bit blander than I would have liked, and I should have let it rise more. Could make this again OR try another recipe. BDs want plain bagels next.

1/28/22 Tried the other recipe. Folding the raisins and cinnamon to get the swirls was a nice touch, but otherwise they did not rise enough. Would experiment with the first recipe again.

• 1/2 c raisins, soaked in warm water for 10 min
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 T sugar
• 1.25 c warm water
• 3 c flour (recipe called for bread but I only had AP)
• 3 1/3 T brown sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 1/2 t yeast
• EGG WASH: 1 egg + 1 T water

1. Pat the raisins dry and combine with cinnamon and sugar. Dump into bread machine pan followed by remaining main ingredients. Set to dough cycle. Check dough and add water or flour to get right consistency. Remove after the first knead - about 20 min.
2. Place dough on floured surface and divide into 8 pieces.
3. Shape into bagels with very large holes (to account for increase in size during rising and baking time) and place on parchment paper on baking sheets.
4. Let rise for 30 min, until doubled.
5. Boil large pot of water with 1 T sugar. Boil bagels in batches for 1.5 min per side.
6. Cool on wire rack for a minute. Then brush with egg wash.
7. Bake 400F for 20 min.

Recipe #2

1/28/22 These came out rather flat. I forgot to put cornmeal on the parchment paper so when it was time to boil I couldn't get them off the sheet! Remember to butter or cornmeal the sheet next time!

• 1.25 c warm water
• 1 T honey
• 1/2 T sugar
• 1.5 t yeast
• 3.5-4 c flour
• 1.5 t salt
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 c raisins

1. In a small bowl, combine the honey, sugar and warm water.  Sprinkle on the yeast. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 min until foamy.
2. In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the salt. Add the frothy yeast and stir until evenly mixed. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until it's too hard to stir by hand (about 1 cup). Turn onto floured surface and continue adding flour until the dough is fairly stiff but still kneadable. Knead for a total of 8 minutes.
3. Flatten the dough. Add the cinnamon and raisins down the center. Fold the dough over and knead until the raisins are dispersed and there are swirls of cinnamon in the dough. Knead over raisins that have escaped.
4. Form dough into ball, cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 min).
5. Punch the dough down and form it into a log. Cut into 10 equal pieces.
6. Form each piece into a smooth ball. Pinch the center to make a hole 3x bigger than final size.
7. Place on GREASED baking sheet/parchment paper, or sheet lined with cornmeal. Let rise until doubled for another 45 minutes.
8. Preheat broiler.
9. Boil wide pan of water.
10. [Broil the bagels for 1 min on each side. They should not brown, only become dull on each side and poof up.] - This is when I discovered I'd forgotten to grease the parchment paper so I couldn't flip them. I only broiled on one side and then had to deal with the disaster. The second tray I didn't broil at all. The first tray came out much smoother than the second tray.
11. Boil rapidly for 1 min on each side, flipping with chopstick. Let drip on wire rack.
12. Place back on baking tray and bake at 375/190 for 20-30 min until the surface is golden brown.

Craisin Chocolate Brandy Bread

Based on Cranberry Eggnog loaf from 300 best Canadian Bread Machine Recipes book. Used maple syrup instead of honey, replaced some of craisins with chocolate chips and used raspberry brandy. Tastes great day of - brandy is noticeable, nutmeg was not. Chips melted in and turned bread brown, craisins stayed bigger.

• 3/4 c milk, room temp
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 2 T brandy
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 c maple syrup
• 2 T butter, room temp
• 2 3/4 c flour
• 1.5 t nutmeg
• 1 t yeast
• 3/4 c craisins and chocolate chips

1. Measure all ingredients except craisins and chips into bread machine. Set to Sweet Cycle, 1.5 pound loaf.
2. Add sweets at beep signal.
3. Let cool.

Almond Yeast Bread

Requested by XBD. This was the first attempt. It wasn't quite enough almondy for me, but still enjoyed by everyone. 1.5 lb medium crust loaf, almonds added after beep.

• 3/4 c milk
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 T butter
• 1.5 t almond
• 3 T sugar
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 c almond meal
• 3 c flour
• 2 t yeast
• chopped almonds

Cherry Chocolate Bread

Got a bag of dried sour cherries and made this loaf. The chocolate mostly melted in the bread, turning it brown, but there were a few pieces still left in it.

• 1 c milk, warm
• 2 T cherry juice
• 1 egg
• 1.5 t salt
• 3 T maple syrup
• 2 T butter, room temp
• 3.5 c flour
• 1.5 t yeast
• 2/3 c chocolate chips
• 2/3 c dried cherries

1. Dump ingredients, except chips and cherries, into bread machine.
2. Set to Sweet Cycle, 2 lb loaf, dark.
3. Add chips and cherries at beep.

Olive Breads

Spinach Feta Twist

An olive bread finished outside the bread machine. Presents well. ***

• 1 c water
  
• 1/2 c crumbled feta
• 1 egg
• 1.5 t salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 3/4 c flour
• 1 1/4 t yeast

Filling

• 10 oz frozen spinach
• 1 T melted butter
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1/4 c grated parmesan
• 2 t oregano
• 1/2 c crumbled feta
• 1/4 c sliced kalamata olivse

Topping

• 1 egg white
• 1 T water
• optional: 1 T grated parmesan

1. Set dough ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
2. Defrost spinach in microwave. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Stir in the butter, garlic, parmesan and oregano.
3. Remove dough from machine and turn onto lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10-15 min.
4. Roll to 18x15" rectangle.
5. Spread filling to within 1/2" of edges. Sprinkle on feta and olives. 
6. From long side, tightly roll it up. Pinch seams to seal.
7. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Cut in half lengthwise with scissors. Twist the halves together and make into round, keeping the cut sides up. (Alternatively, place into greased tube pan.)
8. Cover and let rise 45-60 min.
9. Combine egg white and water and brush onto dough. Sprinkle with parmesan.
10. Bake at 375F for 45-55 min or until done.
11. Eat as snack or serve with salad for a meal.

Mediterranean Bread

1.5 lb basic loaf bread.

• 1 c water
• 1/3 c crumbled feta
• 3 t minced garlic
• 1.25 t salt
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T maple syrup
• 3.5 c flour (all purpose or bread)
• 3 t basil
• 1/2 c sliced kalamata olives
• 3/4 t yeast

Apricot Almond Loaf

XP wanted a bread with almonds so threw this in the bread machine just after breakfast. Didn't toast the almonds. Based on Sour Cherry Almond Loaf recipe from 300 Best Canadian Bread Machine Recipes.

• 1 1/3 c warm milk
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 t salt
• 2 T maple syrup
• 2 T canola oil
• 3 3/4 c flour (all purpose or bread*)
• 1 1/4 t yeast
• 2/3 c chopped apricots
• 2/3 c slivered almonds [toasted]

1. Place dough ingredients (not the apricots and almonds) in bread machine. Set to 2 lb Sweet Cycle, dark. 
2. At sound of beep, add the apricots and almonds.

NOTE

For toasting the almonds, set on baking sheet at 350F for 10 min. Remove when lightly browned. They'll continue to darken as they cool.

Variations

Use other dried fruits: blueberries, cranberries, apples, raisins, sour cherries

Date Nut Swirl Loaf/Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Made this sweet bread to have as an easy afternoon snack. XP loves dates and raisins so I put both in. Stored in the fridge to keep it from molding. I give it about 3 *s but XP would probably give it 4 or 5. Based on Cinnamon Walnut Swirl Loaf from 300 Best Canadian Bread Machine Recipes.
2018-2022 Been making this has a cinnamon raisin loaf for ages. Reduced sugar to 1 T brown sugar so not overly sweet. Stronger with ceylon cinnamon than regular. Chopped almonds usually.
Jan '23 Baked 2 loaves at once - one with pecans, the other nut free. One in bread pan, one free form.

• 1 c warm milk
  
• 1 egg
• 3/4 t salt
• 3 T sugar
• 2 T butter, room temp
• 3 c flour (all purpose or bread)
• 1.25 t yeast

Filling

• 4 oz dates, chopped [or raisins]
• 2 T brown sugar [1 T for less sweet version]
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts [or almonds, pumpkin seeds, pecans]

1. Place dough ingredients in bread machine and set to Dough Cycle.
2. Remove dough to lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10-15 min.
3. Roll out to 16x8 rectangle...or preferably 20x8 for even more raisins.
4. Spread filling to within half an inch of the edges. Roll short end tightly.
5. Place in greased 9x5 loaf pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 min.
6. Poke several holes through the risen dough.
7. Bake at 350F for 40-50 min or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

Animal Bread

Tried a preschooler bread activity - let her make shapes which didn't go that well, but putting in raisins, chocolate and nuts for the face worked ok. With the dough XP thought it was like playdough so kept picking up the shapes after they were already made and squishing them. After baking, the raisins dried out a bit so might be better to soak them first or try a different dough recipe.

• 1 c warm water
• 2 T oil
• 1 egg
• 3 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 3 1/3 c bread flour
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• Optional Decoration: raisins, chocolate chips, chopped almonds, peanuts, etc

1. Make dough in bread machine (or by hand).
2. Divide into 8 pieces. Cut further if necessary and shape into animals or faces.
3. Add raisins, chocolate chips. sliced almonds for decoration. Cut dough with scissors to make pronounced designs (like for a turtle or hedgehog).
4. Let rise 20-30 minutes (or 45...since time isn't always controllable with a preschooler).
5. Brush with egg wash or butter.
6. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Animal Ideas

• Raccoon
• Hedgehog, porcupine
  
• Turtle, alligator
• Duck
• Faces, Monsters
• Rabbit
• Bear
• Snail

Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Got a new bread machine and made a sandwich ring this morning. In the evening tried my hand at a sweet bread fully made in the machine. On the way googled about Canadian vs American flour - there is a difference which would explain why all the flour recipes turn out so differently here. Turned out slightly too sweet for my taste - so I think next time reduce the brown sugar by half. It was also very light on the top - so maybe try the dark setting or 2 lb setting instead? Otherwise was good toasted for breakfast. *** (see other versions below)

• 1 c milk
• 1 egg
• 3 T butter (soft)
• 4 T sugar
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 t cinnamon
• 3 c bread flour
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• 1 c raisins (optional: plumped)

1. Put ingredients in order specified by bread machine, except raisins. For my Sunbeam it's wet, then dry, then yeast.
2. Start machine on Sweet setting, 1.5 lb.
3. When it beeps (after 20-30 min), slowly add in raisins during the 2nd kneading cycle.
4. Remove from pan to let cool. Eat fresh, toasted or as french toast.

7/8/15 Made a ginger-raisin-bread. Like this one better. ****
Sept 2015 - made this again, with the super large raisins. They end up getting torn apart by the machine and end up in small pieces throughout the bread. 1.5 lb/dark

• 1 c warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1 t salt
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 T oil
• 2 T molasses
• 3 c flour (bread or all purpose)
• 3/4 t ginger
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t cloves
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 1.5 t yeast
• up to 1 c raisins

No Knead Bread

Peasant Bread

This was pretty easy to throw together and came out nice and chewy. It's my first no-knead bread attempt. It was quite an interesting process just using a spatula and 2 forks. The original post has pictures of the whole process. The dough really is super wet. The bowls she uses are VERY small, which you can't tell from looking at her pictures since they are all close up shots.. I made a 9x5 loaf using about 2/3 of the dough (she recommends 3/4 of it) and the remainder in a small, shallow, square 1.5L dish. When mixing it originally my dough was quite dry, not wet like hers in the picture so I added a couple T of cold water. The alternative** is to start with less than 4 cups in the bowl and add extra flour after mixing it together. 

• 4 c flour (or slightly less**...should be 1 lb 2 oz), not bleached
• 2 t sea salt
• 1/2 c boiling water + 1.5 c cold water (or just 2 c lukewarm water)
• 1 T sugar
• 2 (+1/4) t yeast
• 2-3 T butter

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in the water. 
3. Sprinkle yeast on top and wait 10-15 minutes until yeast is frothy, to prove that it is still alive.
4. Pour yeast mixture into flour and mix with spatula. Mixture will be very wet. 
• Either put dough in a greased bowl
• ...OR...scrape sides of mixing bowl and butter the sides.
5. Cover with cotton towel and let rise in warm, moist area (like a warm oven with a pot of boiling water inside) for minimum one hour, but preferably 1.5-2 hours.
6. Generously grease 2 containers, no bigger than 1.5L each, with 1 T (or more) butter each.
7. Using 2 forks, pull the dough from the sides and punch down, turning sides onto itself. It is important that the dough is pulled from the sides and entirely punched down. Use forks to separate the dough into 2 pieces (of equal size if containers are equal...or if using 9x5 bread pan, then about 2/3-3/4 of the dough for that, remainder for small container or muffin tins or ramekins). Scoop up each piece and plop into prepared containers.
8. Cover and let rise in warm area for 30-45 minutes. Dough should rise to just below/above top of container, depending on the container.
9. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375F and cook for 22-25 minutes more.
10. Remove from oven and turn onto cooling racks. If they were sufficiently greased, they should fall out.
• If the breads look pale and soft, put on cookie sheet and continue to bake for 5 min.
11. Let cool for 10 min before slicing.