This is an easy, basic recipe for bread that does not require much skill.
There are many ways to make bread and this is one of them (and in my opinion, a very simple way). Remember, bread making is not an exact science.
There are many ways to make bread and this is one of them (and in my opinion, a very simple way). Remember, bread making is not an exact science.
Step 1What you'll need
You will need:
*Hot-ish means between 95 and 115 degrees F. much colder and it won't activate, much warmer and it will kill the little guys.
- Yeast - 2 Tbsp
- Hot-ish* water - 2 cups
- Bread flour - 5 cups total, 2 for the sponge and 3 for later. (NOT regular flour)
- Sugar - 2 Tbsp.
- Salt - 2 tsp.
- Oil - 2 Tbsp.
- 3 loaf pans
- Quick-read thermometer
- Oven pre-heated to 375
*Hot-ish means between 95 and 115 degrees F. much colder and it won't activate, much warmer and it will kill the little guys.
tep 2Make the sponge
Start by mixing the hot water and the flour. Then, add 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. oil, 2 Tbsp. yeast, and 2 tsp. salt.
Let this sit for about 8 or 10 minutes. Assuming your water was hot enough, it should be nice and bubbly.
Step 3Add some flour and knead it
Now you need to add about 3 more cups of flour. I added a little less this time, it really depends on the humidity and how exact your measurements were in the sponge step.
Once it gets too tough to stir, flip it onto a clean floured surface. Now, knead away, adding flour as you do so.
Knead the dough for 8 or 9 minutes. As my Mother says, it should be the texture of your earlobe when it's done kneading.
When you finish this part put it back in the bowl and cover it with a slightly damp towel.
Once it gets too tough to stir, flip it onto a clean floured surface. Now, knead away, adding flour as you do so.
Knead the dough for 8 or 9 minutes. As my Mother says, it should be the texture of your earlobe when it's done kneading.
When you finish this part put it back in the bowl and cover it with a slightly damp towel.
Step 4Let it rise...
let the dough rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to an hour. the dough should be about doubled in size by the time it's finished.
Step 5Into the pans
Punch the dough down (Yes, punch it. Beat the heck out of it. Just don't make a mess), then divide it into 3 parts. Spray the pans and put the dough in. Let it rise again in the pans (covered) until it looks like the second picture.
Step 6Into the oven
Preheat your oven to 375 F and put the loaves in.
Bake them for about 25 minutes. Your quick read thermometer should read between 180 and 190 degrees. Pull the loaves out and place them on their sides on a rack, after a few seconds slide them out of the pans and onto the rack. Let them cool.
Bake them for about 25 minutes. Your quick read thermometer should read between 180 and 190 degrees. Pull the loaves out and place them on their sides on a rack, after a few seconds slide them out of the pans and onto the rack. Let them cool.
Step 7Eat!
Eat it! Share it! etc.!
You can do a lot with this recipe...
...You can add nuts, roll it out and add cinnamon and raisins for cinnamon-swirl bread, add your favorite spices, etc. Add sweet potatoes, chunks of cheese, pieces of ham, or whatever suites you. Be creative! It's your recipe to experiment with and make your own, have fun with it!
You can do a lot with this recipe...
...You can add nuts, roll it out and add cinnamon and raisins for cinnamon-swirl bread, add your favorite spices, etc. Add sweet potatoes, chunks of cheese, pieces of ham, or whatever suites you. Be creative! It's your recipe to experiment with and make your own, have fun with it!
AFortuni
what's the recipe for that ? thank you.
Hot-ish* water - 1 cup
Bread flour - 2.5 cups total, 2 for the sponge and 3 for later. (NOT regular flour)
Sugar - 1 Tbsp.
Salt - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 Tbsp.
1 loaf pan
Quick-read thermometer
Oven pre-heated to 375
?
I though I would also share that I made 2 loaves in my new stoneware pans and one loaf in my old cheap metal pan and the stoneware made a huge difference. It rose a lot higher and was fluffier inside and crunchier outside. Love these pans.
So, with this basic recipe, can I throw in some extra sugar and say, cinnamon for some sweet bread, or is there something else I need to know or do before I just start throwing things in the mix?
Also I wanted to ask if I can use multigrain flour?
Fast action yeast can be simply mixed into the flour, but dried and fresh yeast needs a kick start to get it going. Just dissolve it in warm water and add a teaspoon of sugar to feed the yeast and wake it up. After fifteen minutes or so, the yeasty liquid will start frothing and smell alive.
Whichever yeast you use, and I favour fast action for sheer ease and simplicity, do what you need to do to reactivate it before you start. If you’re using dried yeast, you need 10g, or 20g of fresh yeast, with 600ml of warm water (one third from the kettle, two thirds from the cold tap).
i found this on another site
THANKS AGAIN
Soak some raisins in your favorite alcohol over night -- I've used Marsala wine or bourbon. Mix in when you do the punch down after the first rising.
Add some chopped walnuts for a little crunch.
Spray the top of the dough with olive oil right before putting in the oven to brown the crust.
I might be wrong!
You need to let it rise in the pans until it doubles in size. This second rising should take less time, because there is more yeast in the dough.
I just put my tea kettle on before i start kneading.
LOL
nvm!
The optimum temperature for yeast to grow is 37 degrees Celsius (body temperature). If you are unable to touch the water for a prolonged period of time, the water temperature is ~ 55 deg. C (too hot!!!!!!!!).
I made the bread in batches cuz I only own one pan and it still worked fine
Just let the other dough rise for that time and then use it later
Again, great recipe
Also the bread is delicious.
Nice simple recipe too :)
it tastes well
good as the hotel bread
Portion: 3
Cooking temperature: 180 C
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Cooking method: Bake
Ingredients:
30 ml Cold Water (Refrigerator)
100 gm maida
1 tbsp baking Powder (not full)
2 tbsp full powder sugar.
Methods:
Step 1: Mix Maida and powder sugar well, sieve them 3 times.
Step 2: Add baking powder to cold water, mix well for 10 seconds, add this to mixed maida and sugar mixture, mix well with the end of spoon. sticky ball should be formed.
Step 3 : Sprinkle maida flour and knead the dough untill it get non sticky. Now knead the dough for 5 minutes. Non sticky dough sholud be formed. cut it in three portion. Now make lightly thick (not too thin) roll of each portion using rolling pin.
Step 3: put them in Oven. Bake them for 30 minutes for 180 C.
Step 4: After cook. Leave it for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Cut top and bottom crispy layer. Then start to eat.
I also tried making the same receipe using whole wheat flour. I know you need to add gluten so I added 1 rounded tablespoon per cup of flour (5 Tbsps) as part of the 5 cups of flour in this receipe. It looked great, sponge part all bubbly, first rise doubled in about 45 min. I punched it down, divided it into 3 loaves but it just barely rose. I baked it anyway and it turned out soft (easy to cut) and tasted good but was about 2 inches high only and dense. What did I do wrong? I'd appreciate help on this one.
Sandee CH
Instant Bread Making Recipe:
Portion: 3
Cooking temperature: 180 C
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Cooking method: Bake
Ingredients:
30 ml Cold Water (Refrigerator)
100 gm maida
1 tbsp baking Powder (not full)
2 tbsp full powder sugar.
Methods:
Step 1: Mix Maida and powder sugar well, sieve them 3 times.
Step 2: Add baking powder to cold water, mix well for 10 seconds, add this to mixed maida and sugar mixture, mix well with the end of spoon. sticky ball should be formed.
Step 3 : Sprinkle maida flour and knead the dough untill it get non sticky. Now knead the dough for 5 minutes. Non sticky dough sholud be formed. cut it in three portion. Now make lightly thick (not too thin) roll of each portion using rolling pin.
Step 3: put them in Oven. Bake them for 30 minutes for 180 C.
Step 4: After cook. Leave it for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Cut top and bottom crispy layer. Then start to eat.
Thank you so much for the recipe it was fun and easy :)
Yum Yum to all and good luck with your bread making :)
Use bread flour if at all possible.
Alternatively; All purpose or AP flour can still form gluten but is a weaker flour and better for things like pancakes. It is typically a mix of bread flour and weaker flours.
Pastry flour is weaker still and is best for fine pastries and making layered doughs for puff pastry, croissant, and danish doughs. It is also most commonly seen as the topping of flour before baking on the more "rustic" style breads.
And lastly, Cake flour is the weakest of all, it is best for cakes because it has very little protein to form gluten strands and is almost purely white lending itself to coloring as the baker wishes.
And i beg to differ, "bread making is not an exact science" could not be more insulting for those that truly have a love for the science of baking.
But thanks for the "ible" anyway. :)
Any advice on when and how to add such things?
Thanks!
Plain loaf is already gone and it was yummy!
its a really good recipe.. and clear instructions.. thankyou :)
Glad you liked it, thanks for commenting.
Just some thoughts.
For starters, it is my understanding there are three types of baker's yeast: Regular, Rapid Rise, and Instant (which might be what is sometimes referred to as "bread machine" yeast). Regular takes longer to rise, Rapid Rise is the next quickest, and Instant is a hair faster. Longer rising yeasts supposedly make for a more "full flavored" bread.
I personally don't much care for Fleishman's regular yeast. Their rapid rise stuff in the little jar's isn't too bad, and their instant yeast is good stuff. I buy the instant in large packages at Sam's club, it's way cheaper than those little packages or the small jars. Just keep it in the fridge or freezer and it will last a long time.
Another brand that is very good is SAF instant yeast (this is a professional baker's yeast) I get mine from the King Arthur Flour Company. They have lots of other goodies, too...but they ain't cheap. The SAF yeast isn't too pricey, tho.
Tricks for rising bread. Put it on top of your hot water heater. Or, if you have a crock pot, put some hot water in the pot, set it on low, and put your bowl on top. (haven't tried this one myself)
You could also put the bowl with your dough inside a large bowl filled with hot water.
As for adding water when mixing your dough, there is a handy trick you can do...dunno how well it works if you are mixing by hand, I use a stand mixer.
...however, if you mix your dry ingredients up good, including the yeast, so the yeast granules are distributed amongst the flour, you can take fairly hot water (I use it straight from the tap on full hot), and pour it in while mixing. This doesn't kill your yeast, even tho the water is actually too hot (BTW 120 F is considered the upper limit). Because the yeast isn't "all in one spot", the flour tends to cool the water down while you are mixing, and you end up with nice "warm" dough. But....if hand mixing, not sure if that would be fast enough. Anyway, this method has never failed for me using my KitchenAid mixer.
*I* would buy a pan that size. :)
Beanpod, anyone?! Beanpod
i bake for more than 15 years now, it's pretty easy to make a bread. But to make a white bread, that tastes still great after a couple of days, you need to make a couple of adjustments.
I start with 40% of the flour, 66% of the water and a quarter teaspoon of dry yeast. Most of the time i use fresh yeast, but it doesn't matter in the result.
The resulting dough will be mixed and have a very liquid consistency.
After letting it ferment for 12-14 hours, i add the remaining 60% of the flour, with the rest of the water, i mix in a teaspoon of dry yeast. After it is mixed, i add the salt and if, the fatty components like butter, olive oil. Then it will be kneaded for around 12 minutes with my Kenwood (something like kitchen aid, just a little sturdier)
After kneading, i let it ferment for 2 hours. Sometimes i give it 1 or 2 turns after 30 and 60 minutes, depending how the gluten development is.
Then i punch/pat it down and form it. I only use bread/cake pans for toast bread. All the rest is "free" formed by hand.
Then i give it another 30-60 minute rise, before i bake it in a humid hot oven.
(receipe above: 1000g flour, 600-630ml water, 27g salt, 7g instant dry yeast)
A word of caution: If you don't like crusty/crunchy bread, keep baking it in pans.
Baking bread is no rocket science of course, but experience certainly helps. For the ones who got addicted, i'd suggest to buy Jeffrey Hamelman's book "Bread".
Here a very interesting link for a french bread.
Baking with Julia
I just wanted to tell you that my wood fired bread / pizza oven will soon be completed. I brought a selfmade dough to the oven workshop i attended in may. It really makes it a tick better. Or you can bake a pizza in 90 seconds.
Some pictures: My buddy who helped me, the oven, baking "Flammenkuchen" and small breads in the oven we made at the workshop. Maybe i'll make a instructable of it.
In the meantime, see here:
Traditional Oven
1 cup is 2,8 dl
and i thought you just hit the wrong button on the keyboard beacuse 350 degrees celcius insn't possible to get, but i guess this was farenheit.
now the second this i took 175 degreeses celcius (instead of 250 :P) and took
1 cup as about 2,5 dl. and the bread tasted like heaven this time =).
very nice bread, fast to make and easy (when the cups and degreeses is converted into the right kind of warmness and take right quantity of the things)
That looks like a recipe I need to try... you should make an instructable on it! ;-P
My sourdough recipe is no-knead also, check it out!
I prefer bread to look browner than this, and I've never heard of checking with a thermometer (interesting idea).
The glass dishes must make some difference, I think metal loaf tins are normally used because they transfer heat better, so I'd be interested to know how the two compare (you may not be able to answer that without doing it I know)
L