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Handmade Onion Bread

By Netanya on April 29, 2008

Photo by NELady

5 Reviews

Prep Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Yield: 3 loaves

Photo by NELady

About This Recipe

"I know there are recipes for onion bread on the site already, but I can't find anything without a bread machine. This is the best onion bread I've ever tasted -- I don't know how I managed to do it. LOL The base recipe is "Grandma VanDoren's White Bread," taken from another site, and is my default recipe. For just the base bread recipe, eliminate the onion mixture and follow the rest of the recipe."

Ingredients

3 cups warm water
3 -4 tablespoons active dry yeast ( more yeast makes it fluffier)
3 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cups bread flour
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 -2 tablespoon sesame seeds
3 tablespoons butter

Directions

In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and half the flour. Mix thoroughly, and let sponge rise until doubled in size, approximately 35 minutes.
While the dough is rising, place thinly sliced or finely chopped onion in a sauté pan with sesame seeds, garlic, and butter. Sauté until caramelized (light brown). Remove from heat and let cool.
Gradually add the rest of the flour, kneading JUST until smooth. I usually knead gently with my fingertips to work the flour inches When the dough has absorbed all the flour and is beginning to get tacky, I stop kneading. (One thing I discovered was to use ONLY the amount of flour listed, even as the dusting powder for the kneading surface. So 8 cups TOTAL and no more, or the bread comes out very heavy.)
Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Allow to rise until doubled, approximately 35 minutes.
Punch down the dough. Divide dough into three equal parts. Pour onion mixture onto the dough and fold over on itself JUST enough to distribute the onion mix throughout the dough.
Shape into loaves (they will be a little ugly here, not smoothed on top), and place in three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled, approximately 35 minutes.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30-40 minutes (mine are done in 30 no problem). The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning.

Private Note

No Notes

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (2089 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving: %
Calories 1676.5
Calories from Fat 315: 18%

Amount Per Serving: %
Total Fat 35.0g: 53%
Saturated Fat 10.4g: 52%
Cholesterol 30.5mg: 10%
Sugars 35.8 g
Sodium 2426.5mg: 101%
Total Carbohydrate 297.6g: 99%
Dietary Fiber 12.4g: 49%
Sugars 35.8 g: 143%
Protein 40.2g: 80%

Reviews

"What a delicious bread!I didn't use loaf pans,just made round loaves.The combination of the onions and sugar make this so tasty.I also added a tsp of dried rosemary to the onions when I sauteed them.The house really does smell like a bakery now."

By LuuvBunny on April 02, 2010 | 1077755
"I have been meaning to review this for a long time,during which I have made it several times and played around with it quite a bit.It is wonderful as written but I have been baking it in four 8 inch cake pans,adding sundried tomatoes,olives etc. to the onion mixture and then slicing it for party sandwiches.Serve in wedges and it looks beautiful.I also made some this way with cinnamon and raisins and prepared it with chicken salad."

By xalapamom on October 16, 2009 | 970705
"This is the best bread... LOVE IT!!! The instructions are wonderful...really SO helpful...I halved it and hand shaped one large loaf...I didn't really worry about 1/2ing the "sesame/garlic/onion" bit so I had one loaded fat bread :) :) I brushed the top with a bit of OVOO, sea salt and a dusting extra of seeds...the scent of it baking was heavenly...reminded me truly of a bakery...and the flavor of the bread made me think of an "everything bagel" (which I haven't had in over a decade)...truly yummy- a deliciously perfect blend of sweet- buttery and salty -savory...I am in LOVE with this recipe THANKS NETANYA!! :)"

By free-free on March 13, 2009 | 827047
"This is the first handmade, homemade bread recipe I've ever tried and I was DELIGHTED with the results (I uploaded some pictures of my first bread loaf EVER - so excited). This was GREAT! I made 1/3 of the recipe (for 1 loaf) as I had NO experience making bread and didn't want 3 loaves of tragic waste. I wish I had made all 3 now! I followed the recipe EXACTLY - YUMMERS! Thanks for this great recipe!"

By NELady on January 25, 2009 | 796258
"I followed this recipe to the letter (paying particular attention to not adding too much flour) and it was absolutely delicious. I sliced it hot out of the oven, buttered it and served it with a Thai style Pumpkin & Sweet potato soup. It was so good I just wanted to eat the bread and forget the soup! My toddler demolished some of the left over bread this morning so its got the kiddy thumbs up too. I changed the servings to just make one loaf, but seeing how delish it was I see now why the original recipe is for 3 loaves - maybe making three will help it last longer than half a day in my house :D Next time I'll take this bread on a picnic and serve with butter, cheese, olives, salami, pickled onions and a nice cold beer. The bread is soft with a touch of oniony sweetness, whilst the onions in the crust which touch the tin during cooking get slightly burned (in a good way!) and taste a little bitter and barbequed which compliments the sweetness perfectly. Soooooooo good. Highly recommended. Ok i'll stop now :D"

By KateyKate on May 19, 2008 | 636181