Ever since I started to bake, I wanted to bake a simple sandwich loaf at home. However, I thought baking bread is time-consuming and didn't explore much. When Jany started asking me to try garlic bread, I finally pushed myself to bake a plain white bread. I followed a recipe from the bread baking book which a friend gifted me recently. I reduced the recipe by half and tried making a small loaf. To my surprise, the first attempt came out quite well and in our excitement, we finished most of the slices in one go 😆. This motivated me to try more and I made a loaf for my mum when she came to Chennai. She liked it very much and was carrying another loaf with her when she returns to Nagercoil. I am yet to try the garlic bread. Let us move to the recipe:
Pictures updated on 19/1/2021
Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Plain flour or bread flour - 3 and 1/4 cups leveled (420 grams)
Active dry yeast - 2 & 1/4 tsp(7 grams)
Warm Milk - 1/4 cup(60 ml)
Warm Water - 1 cup(240 ml)Softened unsalted butter - 4 tblsp(60 grams)
Sugar - 2 tblsp(25 grams)
Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp
1. Before starting the preparation, we have to proof the yeast. Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in a bowl. Cover and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 mins, if the yeast started to froth then you can continue the preparation. Else the yeast is not active, throw it out and get a new pack of yeast. If the yeast is active, add the salt and 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture.
2. Mix it well with a rubber spatula or large wooden spoon, then add another cup of flour and butter. Mix it well until everything is incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for about 5 mins.
3. Now, transfer the dough to the lightly floured surface and knead it well for another 2 to 3 minutes. First Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
4. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Then roll it up into a log as shown below.
5. Butter the loaf pan generously and place the shaped loaf in it. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Allow it to rise again(second rise) until it is about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan. (approximately 1 hour). Before rising, the dough is not uniformly spread. After the rise, it is spread evenly in the loaf pan.
6. Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 175°C. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. If you gently tap on the loaf, it should sound hollow. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the loaf with butter for the glossy look. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Slice the super soft bread with the sharp bread knife. The delicious bread can be used for making sandwiches, garlic bread etc. or you can have it as such with butter and Jam. I served cheese bread to Happy. (Just placed a cheese slice in between the two bread slices and microwaved for 30 Sec to melt the cheese). While she enjoyed her cheesy bread, we both had it with Nutella.
- Good quality yeast yields nice and fluffy bread. It is always best if you proof your yeast before starting the bread making process to prevent failures. Any instant yeast works really well and you can also use active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer for active dry yeast.
- It is best to bake the bread towards the bottom rack of the oven, so the top doesn’t burn. If you notice the top browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.
- The dough may not rise as expected if the place you live is not warm. I usually place it near the stove while cooking and it rises well.
- If you are kneading by hand, make sure to knead it very well else you will end uo with dense bread. Stand mixers or any dough kneader will make the process easy.
Happy's Cook - Divya
You have explained the process very clearly. Yummy bread.
ReplyDeletewow...looks yummmy....
ReplyDeleteThis time photos are very good too....Seems ur photography skills r improving too along with culinary skills... ;)
Nothing can beat the homemade breads, prefectly baked white bread.
ReplyDeletewell made dhivya
ReplyDeleteinviting me...drooling!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely tutorial for basic bread.Very useful one.Tempted to try
ReplyDeletewowwww...good job !! came out perfect ..haven't tried it yet..will do soon...I want a slice NOW:)
ReplyDeletevery soft and lovely looking bread...
ReplyDeleteperfectly baked and love the sesame seeds flavor in it :-)
ReplyDeleteperfectly baked so yum
ReplyDeleteVery very fresh home made bread looks perfect :) It has come out super soft ..
ReplyDeleteperfectly baked spongy plain white bread!: )
ReplyDeleteAwesome
ReplyDeleteSuperb cake ... Drolling
ReplyDeleteVery soft and perfectly made bread. Surely going to try this.
ReplyDeleteWow........soft spongy perfectly made white bread.
ReplyDeletesoft and spongy bread. perfectly done.
ReplyDeleteAll purpose flour means?
ReplyDeleteAll purpose flour means?
ReplyDeleteAll Purpose flour is Maida or plain flour...
Delete