I had asked myself before getting ahead with this article if anyone who is fairly new to cooking or baking will be able to accomplish a good Loaf of white Bread via this post. 

The reply was yes, but a few ifs adjoined to it. If the one who is baking a white bread loaf referring to this recipe will be very accurate in measuring the ingredients. If he or she is careful about the kneading process and will have the patience to let the fermentation take the time required. 

Being precise about the ingredients is requisite, and the other essential step in baking bread is to be comfortable / pro with the kneading process. Which is mostly done with the help of a machine, but we are talking the easiest way of hand kneading today with a good outcome. 

Bread baking is a craft and the process of kneading is of paramount importance. Also, to know if you are going correct with the hand kneading process. Hand kneading is not difficult, but it is essential that you get it right. The whole structural configuration depends on kneading the Dough accurately. 

This is a special quarantine bread recipe post, where our objective is to accomplish a good loaf of white bread. Hence, I myself didn’t use a machine to knead the dough, so I get familiar with the difficulties that one will face doing a loaf of bread at home. In fact, I baked three times to get to the right result. 

Be with me and I shall take you to the steps and the various countenance that the dough will go through during the process. 

A little patience would make it happen. it is not a recipe that will demand too much physical work, but it will demand your patience. Because the process of hand kneading is accomplished if we start the process a day before.  

Follow me blindly to the process and you will accomplish it. 

First step – Around evening take one cup of flour and almost 1/2 a cup of milk + 1 teaspoon of salt and a tiny bit of white vinegar 1/8th teaspoon and combine it all into a rough dough, slightly wet. but make sure no dry flour patch is left hidden in any air pockets. Combine all and transfer into a clean bowl, cover it and keep in the fridge overnight. 

In case you are wondering why vinegar – Vinegar helps to develop the gluten in the dough, also helps to increase the stretchability of the dough. 

Intro to the gluten – gluten is a protein found in wheat products. For bread baking, it is supremely important. It helps dough rise by trapping gas bubbles during fermentation and gives bread its unique texture. Gluten makes bread airy and satisfyingly chewy.

Adding water to flour during mixing of the ingredients, a chemical process starts that leads to gluten development. 

I don’t want to get into technicalities, but I would like you to understand the importance of gluten when baking bread. How you knit using strands of wool and make it into a garment/ sweater. Gluten behaves like those strands of dough that will give strength and structure to the bread. 

For good bread, we need gluten and the flexibility of gluten strands. Which depends on the hydration. Think of the dough for the bread, like a rubber band. If the rubber band is very stiff, it will not expand that much. If the rubber band is very weak, it will break as we try to stretch it. Our bread dough should be like a flexible stretchable expandable strong rubber band that will hold the shape. 

 Giving the flour time to absorb the water overnight, will make the dough more manageable and gluten will develop. 

The second step – In the morning, take that dough out and let it sit on the kitchen counter for an hour or so and you carry on with your routine work. 

The third step – Now in a clean bowl add 1/2 cup of warm milk (Lukewarm) with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of dry yeast. Stir it once and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof. Active yeast will bubble up. If your yeast doesn’t bubble then discard and try again with fresh yeast.

Add 7 gm of butter and 1 cup flour + 2 spoon full of flour to it and mix. 

Tip – Yeast has a shelf life. Keeping your yeast in the fridge can increase its shelf life. But eventually, it loses its vitality. Always proof the yeast before adding it to your bread.

Now you have to combine two of this dough together. The overnight one and the yeast one. 

It will be a wet mess initially but stickier dough leads to a lighter, airier loaf, full of wonderful holes and “we call it open crumb”. 

Forth step – This is the time of work, so roll up your selves and keep the spirit of a baker alive in you for next 15- 20 minutes. 

Briefly combine both the doughs in a bowl and then tilt it to a clean kitchen counter. Allow yourself some space and you will need a bench scraper for this process. 

How you do everyday roti dough kneading, this is quite similar to that process. The first few rounds will leave part of the dough on the table, but as the gluten develops, the dough will begin to adhere more and more to itself and less to your hands and the table. 

Moving quickly helps, as does frequently scraping your work surface with a bench scraper will help combine it faster. To make the work easier give yourself and the dough rest of 1 minute after every kneading of 3 minutes. 

You can slightly wet your hand occasionally to handle the dough.

After kneading of 10 -15 minutes – Scoop the dough with a bench scraper, lift it from one end, and fold — repeat. This is where you begin to see a real transformation in the dough. Even though this looks like a lengthy and labour-intense process, total kneading time won’t extend more than 20 minutes. 

The fifth step – Once you reach a satisfactory smooth, elastic texture, you fold the dough to make a smooth surfaced dough ball. Don’t be tempted to add extra flour to knead further, the bread will end up in a dense loaf. 

Sixth step – Bring the doughs together into a clean dough ball and you are done. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (45 minutes to an hour).

Lightly mist a loaf pan with some oil or butter and I personally like to keep a piece of parchment paper on the bottom. Prepare the loaf pan and set it aside. 

The seventh step – Dump the fermented dough on a clean surface (dust the surface lightly with dry flour) and gently punch down the dough. Roll up the rectangle, starting on the short end, into a cylinder. Pinch to seal the seams and the ends, tuck the ends of the roll until the bread, and place into the prepared loaf pan.
Lay the dough, seam side down, into the loaf pans. Cover it loosely, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (30 to 45 minutes). You can wait till you get good height as shown in the picture here. Be extra conscious about not deflating the rise while brushing milk on the top. Be careful while handling the risen dough, when taking it to the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped and the top is beautifully golden.

Tip – Don’t be in a hurry to get your bread in the oven. Preheat the oven before putting in your bread dough for at least 20 minutes. Some artisan bakeries preheat the oven for a full hour.  You can’t rush this step.  

Remove from the oven when done and use a dishtowel to grip the top of each loaf to lift it from the pan onto a wire rack. Allow cooling completely.

Do not let the baked bread cool in that loaf pan completely because it will start to condensate at the bottom. You might have to use a thin knife blade to release the sides of the bread from the loaf pan. 

If you are using a bread machine – dumped all the ingredients in my bread machine. Let the machine do all the work, mix and kneaded it. Then once it formed a smooth ball pull out and give it one last knead by hand and placed in oil lined bowl to proof. Follow the rest of the steps as mentioned above. 

Bread Basics

Ingredients 

1 teaspoon 5 gm active dry yeast

1 cup milk (divided)

1/8th teaspoon of vinegar 

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon salt

7 gm butter at room temperature

2 cups + 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour maida 

1 teaspoon of milk for bruising before baking 

1 teaspoon butter melted, for brushing after baking 

Method 

In a clean bowl mix 1 cup of flour,  1/2 a cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of salt and a tiny bit of white vinegar 1/8th teaspoon and combine it all into a rough dough. The dough will be slightly wet and you don’t have to knead it into a fine dough. Just make sure no dry flour patch is left hidden in any air pockets. Combine all and transfer into a clean bowl, cover it and keep in the fridge overnight. 

Next day morning in a clean bowl add 1/2 cup of warm milk (Lukewarm) with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of dry yeast. Stir it once and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof. Active yeast will bubble up. If your yeast doesn’t bubble then discard and try again with fresh yeast.

Add 7 gm of butter and 1 cup flour + 2 spoon full of flour to it and mix. 

Now you have to combine two doughs together. The yeast dough and overnight one (make sure that the dough is at room temperature before you start). Briefly combine both the doughs in a bowl and then tilt it to a clean kitchen counter. Allow yourself some space and you will need a bench scraper for this process. 

Knead and combine both the doughs. After kneading of 10 -15 minutes – Scoop the dough with a bench scraper, lift it from one end, and fold — repeat. This is where you begin to see a real transformation in the dough. Even though this looks like a lengthy and labour-intense process, total kneading time won’t extend more than 20 minutes. 

Once you reach to a satisfactory smooth, elastic texture, you fold the dough to make a smooth surfaced dough ball. Don’t be tempted to add extra flour to knead further, the bread will end up in a dense loaf. 

You can slightly wet your hand occasionally to handle the dough. 

Bring the doughs together into a clean dough ball and you are done. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (45 minutes to an hour).

Lightly mist a loaf pan with some oil or butter and I personally like to keep a piece of parchment paper on the bottom. Prepare the loaf pan and set it aside. 

Dump the fermented dough on a clean surface (dust the surface lightly with dry flour) and gently punch down the dough. Roll up the rectangle, starting on the short end, into a cylinder. Pinch to seal the seams and the ends, tuck the ends of the roll until the bread, and place into the prepared loaf pan.
Lay the dough, seam side down, into the loaf pans. Cover it loosely, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (30 to 45 minutes).

Position an oven rack on the lowest setting and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. 

Brush the loaf with some milk. Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely before slicing. The bread can be stored in an airtight bread bag or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.

The post Homemade White Bread Loaf Recipe appeared first on 2blissofbaking.