He was quite excited waking up to fresh bread this morning, how lucky can he get. This bread is really easy to make. It did not take a lot of effort (except for the kneading, just a little muscle workout) but you do need time. So, if time is on your side let’s get baking. You don’t have to use bread flour; cake wheat flour or all-purpose flour works just fine. There was a time when I tried making bread and it was a complete disaster and that was because my dough wasn’t soft enough. You can imagine, I had bread that was hard as a rock. This time however, I paid attention and made sure I got it perfect. Besides I cannot be wasting any ingredients. This Easy White Bread turned out golden brown with a crispy outer crust and soft on the inside. After this I don’t think I am buying bread again. Nothing beats bread fresh out the oven with a smear of butter, heaven. Here’s how the bread is made. I popped all my dry ingredients into a large bowl, including the yeast. I used instant dry yeast, no need for proofing here. I then add the butter and the water and mixed the dough until it was soft and slightly sticky. I kneaded it for 12 – 15 minutes until it was a lovely soft, smooth dough. From my amateur experience of making bread I find that water makes the bread lighter and milk a little heavier so it’s why I opted for water in this recipe. Although I say knead for 12-15 minutes your dough could be ready sooner. To check if your dough is kneaded enough you can do the “windowpane” technique. Stretch a piece of dough between your 2 thumbs and first 2 fingers of each hand. If your dough doesn’t break that means it’s ready. There’s a great article on thekitchn.com on techniques for bread making. Before I allowed my dough to rest, I turned on my oven at a low temperature, about 130 degrees Celsius. Allow it to heat for 3 minutes and turn it off. Once my dough was ready, I popped it into a greased bowl and greased the dough too. Placed it in the bowl and covered the dough with cling wrap. I placed it into the warm oven and the dough had risen beautifully. It took less than an hour.
I then removed the dough from the bowl, punched out any air pockets and rolled it out on a lightly dusted surface. I pressed it out into a 45 x 20cm rectangle. I then rolled it into a tight cylinder like shape or like a Swiss roll, pinched to seal the seam and tucked in the ends of the roll. I hope my instructions are easy to follow, hopefully I can make a video soon.
It was loosely covered with cling wrap, popped back into my warm oven and allowed it to rise until double in size, for 15 minutes, I then removed it and preheated my oven and allowed it to stand on my draft free kitchen counter. You may need longer resting time depending on your environment. I baked it at 180 degrees Celsius for exactly 35 minutes. I don’t have a thermometer so when my bread was a lovely golden brown and I could smell the bread I knew it was ready. Another way to test for readiness, is to knock the bottom of the bread when removed from the pan. If it feels hollow it’s ready. You can store the bread in an airtight plastic bag for up to 4 days. You can also wrap it up well in cling wrap and freeze for a month. Thaw when ready to eat.
I must apologize as some of my step by step photos have somehow disappeared off my camera but I will post them when I make bread again. More Bread Recipes to try: Soft Fluffy Hotdog Rolls Soft Brown Roti Easy No Yeast Naan Bread If you loved this, please share!
