For the love of Bread
by
Infusing Sunshine
- April 26, 2019
Homemade Bread
Have you ever wondered how to make
homemade bread? Well, let’s try and turn your wonder into action. The making of
bread, the technique of kneading the dough, and the patience of allowing the
dough to rise at its own leisure, and having your home smell like a bakery, is
somewhat therapeutic.
The preparation may seem like ages (well, honestly, it's mainly you waiting around while the dough does all the work), but it's definitely worth the
time when you have the golden-crusted loaf of your lovely bread before
you.
I could continue at length about my love for baking and the perks of creating
good, wholesome food from scratch, but let’s be honest, we are all here for the
recipe and the method.
I hope you do find delight in
creating your own masterpiece while following my step-by-step
method and hopefully a newfound love for handmade bread.
*
Refer to notes at the end
Firstly, begin by adding 500ml of milk and 2 tablespoons of
butter to a saucepan
(preferably one that can hold at least 1 to 1½ liters
of liquid).
In a
large bowl, sift 6 cups of flour and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar. You can
choose to mix the dough by hand or with a kitchen mixer on medium speed.
In another
bowl, combine 8 ml of yeast, ¼ cup of lukewarm water, and
the cooled milk mixture.
Gradually
add your wet ingredients to the flour mixture and salt.
Mix
until the dough becomes easy to handle. If you
decide to use a mixer, beat the dough at medium speed for approximately 2 to
4 minutes.
Transfer
the dough to a lightly floured surface to knead*
the dough for approximately 10 minutes.
Mold the dough into a ball.
Place the
ball of dough into a large greased bowl (I prefer to use butter) and
lightly brush the
ball of dough with butter.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free area to rise double in size for approximately 1½ - 2 hours.
Your dough
is ready once the dough has risen, and if you poke or press the dough and the
impression made remains.
Start by
punching down the dough to allow the excess air to escape.
Begin to
transfer your dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough.
Divide your dough in half if you wish to make 2 loaves.
Begin by
rolling out your dough into a rectangle and fold the dough using a trifold, as follows:
Roll the
dough to form the loaf.
Push the
sides of the bread dough under the loaf.
Place into
a greased loaf tin, cover with plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rise for a further 1 hour.
Once the
bread dough has risen, heat the oven to 200℃ and bake for 25 to 40 minutes, or
until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
(Please do
proceed with caution. Use a bread knife/spoon to lightly tap the surface
of the bread to hear a hollow sound.
Your wait
will be over soon...
Congratulations!
Your very own homemade bread is ready!
 |
Slice and enjoy!
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via GIPHY
Serving suggestion: brush the top of the loaf of bread with butter before serving
So here you have it, the making of homemade bread.
I hope you give the recipe a try.
Happy baking!
XOXO
