Fresh White Bread - Bread Series

To write a post about how to start making bread really made my head ache for a while.  There is so much advice out there and everyone has their own way of doing these things. So I decided to show you how I do it on a day to day basis and then work up to other methods and recipes as I carried on in other posts.  I used to knead all my bread by hand many years ago.  I got older and my wrists just couldn't keep up with it all.  For a few years I had a bread maker, but although the bread was brilliant it felt like cheating to me.  Then I was so lucky and became a KitchenAid stand mixer owner.  That gave more satisfaction.  Then I came across the name Dan Lepard.  He is a baking genius.  His method of making bread involves hardly any kneading saying that time kneads it.  So for our first loaf I decided to do a simple white loaf. Good starting point for anyone I think.  I grabbed the recipe I have written in my recipe book by hand but no idea where I got it from but is the one I use for basic bread.

So we start with
 500g strong bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 sachet or 7 g fast action yeast
300ml body temp water

the fast action yeast doesn't need to be activated before use but if you were using fresh yeast (double the weight of dried yeast) or wanted to test if your yeast was working  then you would crumble or stir the yeast into some of the water  with the sugar. and wait for it to go frothy before using it.  The water doesn't actually need to be body temp as it will prove if it is cooler but will take longer.  If you put your finger into the water it shouldn't feel hot or cold.  To hot and the heat will kill off your yeast so take care with the temperature.

So I mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix together, then add the olive oil. The olive oil is not strictly necessary if you don't have it.Then mix together with your hands or a spoon with the water or yeast activated in water.  It may be wise to keep a little back just in case, but you may need to add a little more to. All flours differ and even the same brand may require more or less on different days.  The dough should come together leaving the sides of bowl fairly clean, It should feel soft but not sticky, slightly tacky is OK but not so it is sticking to your hands to much.you can add more water or more flour until you get the right consistency.

 At this stage you can either mix in a mixer with a dough attachment for 5 minutes or so, knead by hand on a board for 10 minutes.  I prefer to oil the board with a little oil, The dough doesn't absorb any more flour and change the properties of the recipe. I found a video here that might help with the kneading if you want to do it by hand.  If you are doing one of these 2 methods knead as said, and looking like the pictures below, then rest in a covered bowl and leave until doubled in size in a warmish room and look for **** further down to carry on with instructions.

They way I do it though is by covering the bowl for 10 minutes and then coming back. I oil my board a little larger than my dough and place dough onto the board and do 10 seconds of very lazy 'kneading.  I slightly flatten the dough and take large pinchfuls from the side of the dough and fold into the centre, turn slightly and do again,  working quickly I do 8-10 of these in my 10 second.  Turn the dough seam side down and you are left with a dome of dough

And that is just 10 seconds worth to make it smooth.  Place back in the bowl and cover and knead this way twice more with 10 minute intervals, making a total of 3 times.

Cover again and leave until doubled in size, roughly about an hour. I cover with just a tea towel because the bread has already got a coating of oil to stop it drying out.

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After the dough has double and proved for its first time it should look like this

It's puffed up feels very light to the touch and airy.  Now we have to knock it down.  The yeast has been activated creating Co2 which have created bubbles of gas in the dough.  Take your fist a gently push down onto the dough and watch it deflate slightly,  Don't go to mad once or twice should do it.  Then carefully tip out your dough onto your oiled board and flatten out slightly folding one third back onto itself

Then the other side goes into as if you were folding a letter almost

I turn this upside down and place into a greased and floured 2 lb loaf tin seam side down.

Cover again either with a tea towel or oiled cling film loosely for around 45 minutes and preheat your oven to gas mark 8.  When your dough has risen to the top of the tin and just above we are ready to bake it.

For a basic white tin loaf I like to do mine by sprinkling with flour and slashing it lengthwise. The cut helps the loaf rise without bursting as well as being decorative.  I use a sharp craft knife to do mine.  It needs to be done with a very sharp knife/razor and confidently and quickly so as not to knock out all the air from the second prove.

Now we are ready to bake, This needs to be placed it upper half of the oven and baked for 20 minutes then the oven turned down to gas mark 6 and baked for a further 15-20 minutes.  With my oven it needs to be 25 minutes.  All ovens vary and all this tapping bottom of loaf doesn't always tell you if your loaf has cooked properly.  I go by colour, smell and somehow a loaf seems lighter when baked.  But it's down to finding out how your oven cooks in the end.  Now at this point your house will be filled with the most amazing smell ever and family if home start to ask when is it going to be ready.
Mine came out looking like this

Turn the bread out of the tin and cool on a rack for 30 minutes or so before cutting into it.  It may seem a long time to wait but it needs to cool or will be a little claggy when you cut it somehow.

All that is needed now is some real butter, jam or cheese and just dive in.  If you have any left a day or so after this makes the MOST amazing toast to :o)

Next time I will show you 3 variations on this white bread dough, sweet and savoury.  So why not have a go and let us know how you got on? Any questions just ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Jules x