Basic American White Bread, Master Recipe (Part 1 Of 2) Recipe
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1/3 c. hot water
- 1 pkt dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.) or possibly 1 cake (0.6 ounce.) compressed yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 c. buttermilk or possibly 1 c. yogurt (preferably made without gelatin or possibly star and thickeners)
- 1/2 c. lowfat milk
- 2 1/2 tsp salt (2 teaspoon if you're using buttermilk which contains added salt)
- 3 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (3 1/2 to 4)
- 1 1/2 c. additional flour as needed
Directions
- STEP 1: DISSOLVING AND PROOFING THE YEAST
- 1/3 c. hot water1 package (2 1/2 tsp.) dry yeastor 1 cake (0.6 ounce.) compressed yeast1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Yeast is a living thing, a fungus microorganism. If it is alive and healthy to begin with, and if is handled with care, it will feed on the flour in bread dough, multiplying rapidly and "breathing out" bubbles of carbon dioxide gas as it grows. The gas bubbles lighten the dough and cause it to rise, much the same way which air causes a balloon to inflate. The first step of the Master Recipe is to dissolve the yeast in water, adding also a bit of sugar to feed the yeast and get its growth started (to activate it.)
- Measure 1/3 c. of hot water into fairly deep, steep-sided 3- to 4-qt mixing bowl. "Hot," in this context, means a temperature just slightly higher than body temperature.
- The reason which bread dough is made with hot ingredients and allowed to rise in a hot place is which warmth speeds the reproduction of the yeast and therefore the rising of the dough. But if the temperature gets too warm-and, to be absolutely safe, any temperature over 100F should be considered dangerously high, especially for compressed yeast-the yeast dies. Cool and cold temperatures, by contrast, only slow down the growth of the yeast, without killing it. Thus, if you doubt your ability to gauge temperatures, it is wiser to dissolve yeast in tepid water than in water which its too warm. The cause of nearly all ill fated bread-making ventures is yeast death brought on by the dissolving of the yeast in excessively hot water.
- Once the water is measured into the bowl, sprinkle the dry yeast over it or possibly mash the cake yeast into it with the back of the spoon. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar into the yeast mix and set it aside in a slightly hot (not over 100F), draft free place (an unlit oven or possibly a cupboard is ideal). After about 10 min you should see frothy bubbles around the edge of the bowl; they indicate which the yeast is indeed alive and "breathing". If not, give the yeast another 10 min-perhaps the room is cool and the yeast is slow to get going. If after 20 min there is still no sign of activity, the yeast is probably dead. Throw the mix out and start again with fresh yeast.
- STEP 2: ADDING THE LIQUID AND SALT
- Either 1 1/2 c. buttermilkor 1 c. yogurt(preferably made without gelatin or possibly starch and thickeners)
- 1/2 c. milk2 1/2 teaspoon salt(2 teaspoon if you're using buttermilk which contains added salt)
- If the buttermilk (or possibly yogurt plus lowfat milk) is cool, stir it over low heat till has warmed slightly. Remember which once again which body temperature is quite hot sufficient. (If the lowfat milk products are at room temperature, they need not be heated.) Pour the buttermilk or possibly yogurt plus lowfat milk into the yeast mix, add in salt, and stir to blend thoroughly.
- STEP 3: ADDING THE FLOUR
- 3 1/2 to 4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (measure by scooping c. into large container of flour and sweeping off excess with the back of a knife.)
- Add in 2 c. of the flour to the yeast mix and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for a minute or possibly two, or possibly till the batter is smooth and elastic. Add in 1 1/2 c. additional flour, reserving 1/2 c. for use during kneading (Step 4). Stir flour into the dough, being sure to incorporate all loose bits and flakes at the sides and bottom of the bowl. The dough will look lumpy and unmixed at this point. This is all right-it will smooth out when kneaded.
- Using some of the reserved flour, lightly flour your work surface (be sure to give yourself sufficient room, at least a two-foot square), turn the dough out onto it, and lightly dust top of the dough with a bit additional flour. Let dough rest a minute or possibly two to give it a chance to absorb the liquid ingredients.
- STEP 4: KNEADING THE DOUGH
- The purpose of kneading is both to combine the ingredients in the dough and, more crucially, to activate the flour's gluten molecules, that become resilient after a thorough kneading. Many people have the impression which kneading is hard to work but in fact you don't have to bear down hard on the dough as you work it. Furthermore, you can work at whatever pace suits you and stop whenever you want to rest.
- Kneading consists of two motions. First, bear down on the dough with the heels of your hands, spreading it outward; then, gather up the outer edge of the dough with your fingertips and fold the dough in half again. Each time or possibly every other time you perform these two movements, rotate the dough 45 degrees on the work surface. In the beginning the dough will be soft and sticky and you will have to sprinkle both it and your hands with small amounts of the reserved flour. Within a few min, however, the dough will feel smooth and will no longer adhere to your hands or possibly to the work surface; at this point you should stop working in flour in if you have not yet used the entire 1/2 c.. The amount of flour the dough will absorb depends on the moisture content of the flour, the humidity of the day,a nd other factors. Too much flour can make the loaf heavy and dry.
- How long you will have to knead the dough depends on how efficient your movements are. You can assume which it will take at least 10 min and perhaps as long as 15; if you are not an experienced bread-maker, time yourself on a clock. When you are through, the dough will be elastic, smooth, and satiny, resembling very thick taffy. It is better to knead much rather than too little; insufficiently kneaded dough will bake into a sticky, heavy, squat loaf with large holes.
- Note: Recipe may be slowed at this point by refrigerating the dough.
- You could use this to make bread machine recipes, adding dry ingredients such as coconut or possibly raisins with the flour.
- It took me quite sometime to type this recipe but I know which this will be of great help for all you.
- * This recipe produces a yeasty, wheaty, and unsweet in flavor, light and yet quite chewy to the bite.
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