ricotta cheese recipe -- dill bread recipe

http://www.fiascofarm.com/dairy/ricotta.html

In a heavy pot, over direct heat, heat 2 quarts of whole milk to 200° (sometime I accidentally heat it to boiling).  Add 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar or 1/4 Cup of fresh, strained lemon juice. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 200*. You will see very tiny white particles (the albumin protein) floating in the whey.  The heat and acid from the ripe whey has precipitated the protein. 

Remove the pot from the heat and set it, covered, to rest undisturbed for about 15 minutes.

Line a colander with very fine cheesecloth, called "butter muslin". You must use a very fine cloth here, or your cheese will pass through the regular cloth. If you do not have fine cheesecloth, use a clean cotton cloth (like a pillow case).  Place the colander over a big pot so you can save the whey and carefully pour the whey into the colander.  Be very careful because the liquid is hot.  Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang the ricotta to drain for an hour or so (the longer you hand it, the "drier" your finished cheese will be.

When it has drained, place the ricotta in a bowl, break up, stir and add salt to taste (1/4 tsp.- 1/2 tsp.).   This Ricotta will keep for about a week in the fridge.

• 1/2 C. Whey
• 1 T. Yeast
• 2 C. Ricotta
• 2 T. Butter
• 4 T. Sugar
• 1 sm. Onion, minced
• 2 tsp. Dill weed
• 2 tsp. Dill seed
• 2 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 C. Wheat germ
• 5-6 C. Flour

        Heat the whey to luke warm and place in a large mixing bowl.  Dissolve the yeast in the whey.  Place the Ricotta and the butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave until the butter just melts (about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high); be sure to stir it occasionally.To the yeast mixture add the sugar, onion, dill weed & seed, salt, baking soda and eggs.  Mix until combined.  Add the wheat germ and the Ricotta, and mix well.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and beat on medium for 5 minutes.  Slowly add another 1 1/2 cups of flour.  Now switch to the dough hook and continue to slowly add enough of the remaining flour to create a fairly stiff dough.  I use a heavy duty KitchenAid mixer when making this bread.  If you have a "weaker" mixer, you may have to finish adding the rest of the flour by hand.  Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until the dough springs back when you poke it (5 to 10 minutes).
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down, knead briefly and divide in half.  Shape the dough into smooth loaves and place in greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.  To be honest, I rarely time the risings; I tend to just keep an eye on the loaves until they look right.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for about 50 minutes.
When the bread is done, turn it out of its pan and let it cool on a wire rack.  Cut yourself off a piece and eat it while it's still warm.  Yummm.