Annie's Test Kitchen: Total Dinner Satisfaction

I just had a dinner of two roast beef sandwiches, which were just slices of beef on dry white bread. Now, this would be a poor dinner under normal circumstances, but for the fact that everything involved was made from scratch in my own oven. It is by far the most satisfying dinner I've had in a long, long time. I invite you to experience this satisfaction for yourself.

Bread
I followed a recipe for "Amish White Bread" which I found online. Take two cups of water and heat it to 110-120°F. Add ¾ cup of sugar and a packet of yeast and let sit in a warm place until the yeast has expanded and become foamy. Mix in a teaspoon of salt and ¼ cup of oil (I used canola), then add 6 cups of flour (I used unbleached flour) a cup at a time until it forms a stiff dough. For the first three cups I used a whisk to blend the flour uniformly into a smooth batter; for the next two cups I used a wooden spoon, and for the last cup I used my hands to knead the dough. Continue kneading the dough on a floured surface for several minutes until it is nice and smooth, then put it in an oiled bowl, cover it with a cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise for an hour or two until the dough has at least doubled in size. If you cover it with plastic and let it rise for 24 hours or so, it will become sourdough. Anyway, after it has doubled, punch it down and knead it until all the large bubbles have been worked out and the dough is smooth again. Divide it in half and place it in two 9x5 loaf pans (or three 8x4 pans), cover and let rise until the dough is protruding above the pans' edges. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. I like to brush the tops with melted butter two or three times before and while baking to give it a nice crust and a buttery aroma.

Beef
I started with a three-pound eye round roast. I put it in a bowl, sprinkled it with garlic salt, black pepper and oregano, then added white vinegar, water and red wine until it was nearly covered, then let it sit covered in the fridge for a day. (The wine is also homemade.) My roasting pan is rusty and crappy, so I wrapped the roast in aluminum foil before placing it in the pan. I used two sheets of foil, wrapping one piece over the top then another around the bottom so it formed a shell to catch the steam and send it back down into the bottom. I then baked the roast at 350° for several hours, checking the temperature with a meat thermometer until the center was at 170°.

Incidentally, the most important factor when preparing meat is the temperature it reaches at the center. This applies to all meats, whether beef, chicken, pork, or whatever it may be. As long as it reaches the appropriate temperature, it's all good. Using a higher temperature will make the meat tough on the outside, so the lower the temperature you use, the more tender the meat will be. Theoretically, you could wrap the beef up tightly and put it in an oven set to 165° (the recommended temperature for beef) and bake it for hours or days on end -- as long as it doesn't dry out, it will come out absolutely perfect.