"Acorns were good til bread was found."-Sir Franics Bacon, English Philosopher.
Here is the recipe I'm sure you've been waiting for. My teacher titled it "Your First Loaf" but it's your basic white bread. It has a great crust! Spencer and I just finished off my first loaf yesterday (we made french toast). Remember from the previous post that the yeast is instant, the flour is unbleached bread flour, and the salt is non-iodized.
Your First Loaf
yields 1 loaf or 8 rolls
Ingredients:
3 C flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/8 C water
Directions:
1) Combine dry ingredients, give a little stir.
2) Add water and mix until it forms a ball (remember tacky is good, it will get better as you keep kneading).
3) Turn onto counter and knead for 10 minutes. The traditional quarter turn and push method is best for this recipe (just knead like your momma taught you). A good sign that you're done is when the dough feels like a baby's bottom, it will look smooth on top and feel a bit elastic.
4) Cover and allow to rise for 90 minutes, or until double in size.
5)Shape as desired.
**Quick lesson on shaping:
There are two basic shapes that all other shapes will stem from. The first is the boule'--which translates into ball. The second is the batard--which translates into....not a nice word so we'll call it by it's other common name, the torpedo.
The boule' is formed by tucking the edges under until a ball is formed (like you did with the pita recipe below).
The torpedo is formed by gently tapping the dough out into a rectangle (be sure not to deflate the bread), then rolling it hot dog style and using the edge of your palm to gently close the seam. Then give it about a quarter or half a roll and press the edge again, this should help tighten the top. After the second rise gently rock out the shape between your hands and the counter into a sort of rectangle shape again, use the edge of your hand to gently press a seam or edge down the middle of the shape, fold it over and there you have the torpedo-seam side down (which is also the shape of the baguette)....I realize that's difficult to visualize but that's the best I can do.
From these two shapes you can form the dough into anything you can think of.
If you are baking in a bread/loaf pan: gently tap the dough out into a rectangle the same length as or just shorter than your pan. Roll the dough hot dog style, press the seam and sides, and place to rise in the pan, seam side down.
BUT with so many awesome shapes you could create, who wants to bake in a bread pan???
6) Spray the top of your shaped dough with a non-stick cooking spray, cover, and allow to rise for another 60 minutes.--You may allow the dough to rise this second time on the cookie sheet or stone it will be baked on. Just dust the cookie sheet with corn meal before placing the dough.
7)Bake at 375F for 45 minutes (no less than 30 minutes). Remove from the oven (to check if the bread is done tap the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow then it's finished).
8)Allow to cool for 45 minutes before eating. It's hard to wait that long but I promise the inside will still be warm.
Tips and Tricks:
- Add herbs or other things to your dough during the last 2 minutes of kneading.
- If you are going to top with cheese add that the last minute or two of baking.
- You can brush the top of the dough with egg whites right after you shape it to give it a sort of glazed look.
- For a bakery crust:
- You will need a spray bottle with water in it and your oven preheated to 500F
- Step 1: place the bread in the oven and immediately spray inside the oven 5 times (spray both the oven and the bread). Shut the oven door and wait 30 seconds, exactly.
- Step 2: open the oven door. Spray 5 times. Close the door and wait 30 seconds.
- Do this a total of 4 times. After the 4th round of 30 seconds, turn the oven down to baking temperature (375F) and bake as prescribed above.
My teacher suggested not doing anything fancy like the egg whites or bakery crust your first time making this bread. Just get comfortable with the original and then experiment.
Storing:
- Your loaf is best stored in a bread bag, imagine that! Just the plain plastic kind that your loaf from the store comes in with the twist-tie on top.
- Your loaf is good in the bag for 3-4 days, then remove it from the bag or it will start to mold.
- After that the bread will begin to grow stale, crumbly, or dry so toast it before you eat it, make crumbs, croutons, french toast....you get the idea.
- Store your yeast in an air tight container in the refrigerator. As such it will last about 6 months in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer.
There are other shapes my teacher demonstrated that I might be able to recreate for you if you get bored or run out of ideas. Just let me know!
The possibilities are endless with this recipe! Happy baking!
My first loaf! I went a little above and beyond and did the braid. It's a great pull-apart style, fun to eat. Next I'll try a bread pan loaf but with some herbs kneaded into the dough.
