To make bread, mix yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, honey, oil, and flour, knead for 20 minutes, let rise for an hour, shape into loaves, let rise again, and bake. Experiment with ingredients to create different types of bread.
The basic ingredients for bread are flour, oil, salt, water and a leavening agent. The easiest way to leaven bread is to buy dry yeast granules, which you can activate when you’re ready to use them. To make a very simple loaf, start by mixing one tablespoon of active dry yeast with a half cup of warm tap water in a large metal or wooden bowl. The water should be warm to the touch or it will kill the yeast. Add a tablespoon of sugar for yeast nutrition and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. This is called “proofing” the yeast; if the yeast is good, a rich foamy layer will have formed over the bowl when it returns, and if you tilt your head next to the bowl, you’ll be able to feel the yeast foaming. If it doesn’t, discard the yeast and start over.
Next, add a tablespoon of salt, a half cup of honey or another sweetener of your choice, such as brown sugar, and two cups of warm liquid. Tap water is excellent, but you can also scald the milk for this purpose, as long as you remember to let it cool before mixing. Next, start adding white or wheat flour, or a blend, in small increments. An exact measurement is difficult, because the amount of flour needed will vary, depending on many variables. Add about a cup at a time, mixing thoroughly between each cup with a strong mixing spoon, and after the first cup of flour, add a quarter cup of olive oil, melted butter, or another oil of choice.
Keep adding the flour until the dough starts to come together into a lump. It will still be very sticky at this point and may be slightly lumpy. Cover a large, clean, flat surface with a dusting of flour and turn the dough over, allowing it to rest for a few minutes before starting the next step. After the dough has rested, begin kneading, rolling the dough onto itself and working it around the surface of the dough. Keep adding a dusting of flour as the dough absorbs it and keep kneading. It will start to become smooth and supple after about twenty minutes. The dough will spring back when pressed and also won’t have any traces of stickiness, remaining smooth and soft for the tough. It’s ready for the first rise.
Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel or piece of oiled plastic wrap. Leave the dough to rest in a warm place for about an hour, until it has doubled in size. The yeast inside the bread begins to do its job now that you’ve relaxed the gluten by kneading it, and it will begin to slightly ferment the dough, forming carbon dioxide bubbles that will give the finished product a familiar texture. After the dough has doubled in size, punch it out and make loaves. This recipe makes a large loaf, but can also be used to make smaller loaves or buns. Allow the loaves to rise 30 to 45 minutes, until doubled, then place them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius) for 45 minutes. When fully cooked, the bread will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and it’s ready to be chilled on racks and then eaten.
Using this basic recipe, you can create a variety of breads by experimenting with ingredients once you’ve successfully made the basic recipe several times. Try adding nuts, herbs, fruit, eggs, or spices. For thick wholemeal bread, use only wholemeal flour. For a milder version, mix in white flour, and for pure white bread, use only white flour; white flour is great for making a cinnamon loaf. You can also experiment with other wheat flours or a blend of flours. Once you get the hang of this type, you can also explore yeast and other starter breads, which use a different style of leavening.
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