Hi
My first blog of the year, I would like to wish
all the bloggers whom I have been baking along with since I started this blog –
A Happy and Beautiful 2016! And also to
those who visited or chanced upon my blog and had left a comment, I would like
to say “Thank You” for all your encouragement.
This was my 1st time experiencing
the intense joy of smelling freshly baked bread that coming from our very own
oven. Wow!
Thanks to this wonderful recipe which I adapted
from Joyce (Kitchen Flavour). I had a very bad
experience in making bread. My failure
was due to using lousy yeast. When I
shared my previous failure with Diana Gale (The
Domestic Goddess Wannabe), her first reaction was, “Amy! The yeast you used is dead!” She immediately confirmed that. I took her advice and changed the yeast to
the brand that she recommended.
Before I start making, I did some research on
yeast and also the proofing process. One
of the ways to be confident that the bread will turn out well is to make sure
the yeast you are using is alive. Yeast
needs water and sugar to activate. If
it’s alive, when water and sugar are added to the yeast, it will start to ferment
and becoming frothy. It is good habit to
check and ensure that the yeast you are using is active and not dead. Better to spend few minutes checking the
yeast before making than time wasted to make bread that doesn’t rise.
Steps
to ensure the yeast is not dead
1½ teaspoons dried yeast.
1 tablespoon sugar
65ml warm water
Mixed them all together in a cup. Leave it aside for a few minutes. When you come back in 5-10mins, it should
look like this.
This is indeed a perfect recipe for 1st
timer! It is ordinary plain loaf bread. Soft, fluffy and tasty enough that can be eaten
as it is.
2015 is an eventful year that I hardly got much
time to try out new recipe. In 2016, I
have set my priority to try making variety of breads and those in my To Do
List.
HAPPY
BAKING!
INGREDIENTS
<For two 9-inch loaves>
6 cups(800g) Bread flour
2 tbsp(30g) Sugar
3/4 cup(170g) Room-temperature tap water
3 tsp(10g)
Fine granulated active dry or
instant yeast
1 cup(225g) Whole
milk, scalded and cooled
3 Large
eggs at room temperature
4 tbsp(60g) Butter,
cut into 8 pieces and softened
(I used salted butter instead)
1 tbsp(18g) Fine
sea salt
(Since I used salted butter, I skipped this)
Two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, buttered and the
bottoms lined with parchment paper (I used
cooking oil to grease the pan and skipped the bottoms lined with parchment
paper)
METHOD
Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl and set aside.
Pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk
in the yeast. Wait 5 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in the cooled milk and
eggs.
Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the
liquid a little at a time, stirring to combine between additions.
Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and scatter
pieces of butter on the surface of the dough; mix on the lowest speed for 1
minute. Stop the mixer and let the dough
rest for 15 minutes <1st proofing>
Increase the speed to medium, sprinkle in the salt, and beat the dough until it is smooth and elastic, for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment until almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes <2nd proofing>
Invert the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten
the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll
the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten,
and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl (oil the bowl again if necessary),
cover, and let ferment until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes <3rd
proofing>
Invert the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into
a rough square. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 equal rectangles,
each about 715 grams. Pull the narrow ends of 1 rectangle of dough outward to
widen. From one of the wide ends fold the sides in about 1 inch or so, then
roll down from the top as for turning the dough. Drop the roll into one of the
pans, seam side down. Repeat with the second loaf and pan.
Cover with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the loaves
proof until they have risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once
they're close to the top of the pan, set a rack a notch below the middle level
and preheat the oven to 400 deg F (200 degC).
Place the loaves in the oven and immediately lower the
temperature to 375 deg F (190 deg C). Bake until well risen and deep golden.
Unmold the loaves and cool on a rack on their sides. Wrap and
keep at room temperature, or double wrap and freeze.
*HAPPY*
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteYeah I see very pretty golden loaves ... can smell the freshly baked fragrance too! Happy ^-^!
Good morning Amy,
ReplyDeleteWow, your bread sure rises high and fluffy! I'm so glad that you've got success with this bread. I have not made this in ages and was actually thinking about it lately! We love it too, our kinda bread, soft, fluffy and delicious.
Here's to more bread-making in 2016! Cheers!
Happy New Year to you and family! Wish you a wonderful 2016!
Happy 2016 Amy!
ReplyDeleteI remember this recipe. Joyce was telling us this is a fantastic recipe and so we bake along with this recipe and my family love it. Yeast going dead??? Is it the way you store it??? If you buy them in individual sachet, you won't need any specific brand! If you open a big can of yeast, remember store it in a freezer. Not fridge or room temp hor!!!
Have fun baking more bread :D
Zoe
Hi Zoe, it was individual sachet from in-house brand...
DeleteThanks for your advice!! :D
Yeah... I think Diana and you are right. I guess this brand must be dodgy :p
DeleteHi Amy, I've failed several times trying to make bread. May I know which brand of yeast did you use? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Henny, it is Fleischmann's
Deletenice
ReplyDeletePretty loaves and the recipe does not sound too complicated at all. Hmm... Loaves goal for this week :-)
ReplyDeleteWholesome home bake bread ... Love it
ReplyDeleteWholesome home bake bread ... Love it
ReplyDeleteShall try this home bake bread ! Thanks for clear instruction!!!
ReplyDeleteI love making bread. But make it on pottery that have been made for me as a present. It makes the most amazing bread. I love your easy to follow instructions and will make it too thanks
ReplyDelete