This time I'm sharing a simple recipe for baking bread. This great and easy formula came from the BBC's "Good Food" magazine by Saee Koranne Khandekar, gifted by my brother, Rohith. I'm baking bread for the first time and by Gods grace it turned to be a success. So, I ensure that this is one of the best recipe for beginners.
The science of bread making, I feel that frothing of yeast is much significant. If this step is done well, it seems to have opened the gateway of proper bread baking.
The next one is kneading. This must be done to activate gluten and to obtain a soft crumb. The process of pushing the ball of dough with one hand and pushing it with the other hand must happen consecutively. This process must go on till the dough is smooth and springs back when touched.
Now, dealing with Proofing or The Rise....It means that the bread dough rises to double its size. In a warm atmosphere, it may take approximately 20 minutes and in cool surroundings, the time may increase up to an hour. In Order to fasten yeast multiplication, keep the dough in a warm spot or put in oven that has just the light turned on.
Subsequent to baking, rub the crust with a teaspoon of butter, which would soften the crust. Soon after baking, when you touch the top of the bread, you may feel that it is hard. Do not get disappointed. It will be alright when it is completely cooled.
Ingredients
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Active dry yeast (Red Star) - 1 teaspoon
Lukewarm water - 120 ml.
All purpose Flour - 2 Cups
Butter - 2 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Milk - 1 teaspoon
Procedure
1. Mix sugar and yeast and pour half of the Luke warm water and stir with a spoon till it is well combined and place in a warm cabinet on top of your stove for 10- 15 minutes, until it is frothy. Grease the bread loaf tin with butter or cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, put the flour and add the yeast mixture and mix it well and add the rest of the water and knead until the dough comes together.
3. Place the dough into a clean work surface and knead well in stretching motions, pulling the dough with one hand and pushing with another and continue for 5 minutes.
4. Rub the butter and salt together with finger until it is creamy and incorporate the two into the dough and knead again till all the butter is worked into it and the dough obtained is smooth and pliable one.
5. Make the dough into a ball and cover it with a moist muslin cloth and allow the dough to rise (proofing) about 1 hour and it will double the size.
6. Punch a hole in the dough and fold the dough and again knead briefly. Lay the dough on a floured area and spread in half inch thickness. Roll the dough and tuck the edges and put it into a bread loaf pan.
7. Allow the dough to rise again for 45 minutes to one hour and the dough rise again and got doubled. Brush the crust of the dough with milk.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a golden brown color appears on the top and remove from the oven and immediately brush the top with melted butter.
*Cool the bread loaf keeping it for at least 3 to 4 hours before slicing.
*I have used double the amount of all the ingredients to get a large bread loaf. The pictures used here are of the same.
You can modify the taste of basic bread and add your own contributions like mince meat, Olives, ginger, garlic etc. A sweet bread is obtained when you sweeten it.
The yeast has risen and became frothy
Smooth and pliable dough
Cover the dough with a moist muslin cloth
After 1 hour, the size of the dough gets doubled
Spread the dough in a floured surface
Put the rolled dough into a loaf pan and leave it for 45 minutes
After 45 minutes, the dough in the loaf gets doubled again
The baked bread loaf brushed with melted butter
And one more thing, bake bread once, you will never buy bread (if time permits) in fact it gives you amazing results...:-)
Labels: Bread, bread making, easy bread, loaf, Mayonnaise, sweet bread, white loaf, yeast
