Easycooking: Homemade White Bread

Baking a loaf of homemade bread was always a dream for me.Even though I baked buns,rolls and other yeast bakes often,baking a loaf remained a dream because that required a special kind of expertise,or so I thought.

Making bread from scratch is a delightful process on its own.Mixing the ingredients,kneading the dough,waiting for it to proof,shaping the dough into a loaf and waiting for the second rise and my most favorite part of it is,the baking and the joy to see it rise up high in the oven.I have to say the wait for the bread to cool down completely is the most excruciating part :)

Few years back,I attended a bread baking class in Ernakulam by Jeemol of Eva's Bakes,and expected it to be a difficult one filled with techniques and scientific jargon etc.It was a very informal session where all of us kneaded our bread dough for 15 minutes without even realizing and got to shape(and eat!)so much bread!Throughout the kneading process and for the whole day,Jeemol taught us so many tips which give you the perfect loaf of bread every single time,no matter which recipe you follow.The recipe was secondary,the success was in how we treated the dough and how fresh the ingredients were.

Whenever somebody posted a bread recipe and mentioned this,I used to get annoyed and think maybe they just don't want to share the recipe.But believe me,after years of baking bread loaves,I have the same thing to say.

There are so many recipes available online(I will share the links to a couple below),you just have to choose one,get fresh ingredients and start baking.

Today I will share a recipe which I have been following for sometime now.I chose to share this because it gives me consistent results every single time.I have made this by hand kneading,machine kneading and bread machine kneading,every time it works like a charm.So let's get baking :)

Homemade White Bread | Sandwich Bread

Recipe courtesy - Merryboosters

Ingredients

Maida / All Purpose flour* - 357 gms / 2 3/4 cup

Warm water - 210 ml / 1 cup - 2 tbsp

Instant Yeast - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Butter - 42 gms / 3 tbsp

Sugar - 3 tbsp (Original recipe uses 1 tbsp but we prefer the bread a bit more sweeter)

Milk powder - 1 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Method

If kneading by hand

Add all the ingredients into a big bowl and start kneading till the dough comes together.

Once you form it into a ball,transfer it to a counter and start kneading using the stretch and pull method.

Knead for 10-12 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and passes the windowpane test - If you tear a piece of dough into your hand and smoothen it and stretch it it shouldn't tear.

If kneading by stand mixer

Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer followed by dry.

Using the dough hook attachment start kneading the dough(for 7 minutes).

Check the dough if it passes the windowpane test,or else knead for another 2 minutes.

Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside and wrap with a clingfilm or a tight lid and let the dough double(around 1- 1 1/2 hours).

If kneading by Bread machine

Add the wet ingredients into the bread machine bowl followed by dry.

Use the dough cycle mode and press start.

The machine will start kneading and at the end of kneading cycle,it will start the first rise.

The machine will beep once the first rise is over and you can take the dough out and continue with the rest of the steps.

Grease a 8/4 inch loaf pan with butter and keep it ready.**

After the dough has finished the first rise and has proofed beautifully,degas the dough by punching it.

Shape the dough by rolling it into a thin rectangle first(the width should be the same or lesser than the width of your loaf pan).

Tightly make into a roll and place it(seam side down)into the greased loaf pan.

Apply some water or milk on top of the dough and let it sit for the second rise(for about 30-45 minutes) or until the dough reaches the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Bake the loaf for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.

Once you take it out of the oven,immediately apply melted butter evenly on top of the loaf and cover with a towel.This helps in trapping steam inside which will result in a soft crust.

After about 5-7 minutes,remove the bread from the tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack.Cover loosely with a towel.

Cool completely for at least 4 hours(better if rested overnight) before slicing.

Step by Step Pictorial

If kneading by Bread machine ( I use Kenwood BM450 )

Add the wet ingredients into the bread machine bowl followed by dry.

Starting with water

sugar

yeast

butter

flour

salt

milk powder

Use the dough cycle mode and press start.

The machine will start kneading and at the end of kneading cycle,it will start the first rise.

The machine will beep once the first rise is over and you can take the dough out and continue with the rest of the steps.

Grease a 8/4 inch loaf pan with butter and keep it ready.**

After the dough has finished the first rise and has proofed beautifully,degas the dough by punching it.

Shape the dough by rolling it into a thin rectangle first(the width should be the same or lesser than the width of your loaf pan).

Tightly make into a roll and place it(seam side down)into the greased loaf pan.

Apply some water or milk on top of the dough and let it sit for the second rise(for about 30-45 minutes)

or until the dough reaches the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Bake the loaf for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.

Once you take it out of the oven,immediately apply melted butter evenly on top of the loaf and cover with a towel.

This helps in trapping steam inside which will result in a soft crust.

After about 5-7 minutes,remove the bread from the tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack.Cover loosely with a towel.

Cool completely for at least 4 hours(better if rested overnight) before slicing.

*I always prefer to bake with maida/all purpose flour as it gives me excellent results.Homemade white bread made using all purpose flour is any day better than commercially manufactured wheat bread,is what I believe.Also,I have not got good results using packaged wheat flour/atta and milling the flour exclusively to make bread sounds tedious for me.However,I have used a mix of atta and maida and have got good results.For instance,in this recipe if you add about 100-150 gms of atta and rest of the amount all purpose flour,you will get good results without compromising on the texture or taste.