Foodie Friday: Bake Some Bread

There is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly baked bread.  My mother was afraid of working with yeast, and my grandmothers had breathed a sigh of relief when bakery bread relieved them of the work of baking bread. So I grew up in a house where bread was not made. I taught myself as an adult.   

A few background suggestions. 

I use a heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook, in my case a Kitchenaid 5-quart.  I started kneading bread by hand. For a beginner I would recommend kneading dough by hand to get a feel for how it changes texture and springiness as it develops gluten.  Knowing how it should look, feel and sound, makes it easier to know when the machine has done its job well. 

I buy rapid rise yeast in bulk quantities.  When I started baking bread one of the local markets sold it in 1/2 pint containers in the refrigerated counter.  I order it in one-pound foil blocks. It stores in the freezer for years, in the refrigerator for months.  The yeast I am using now, has been in the freezer for 5 years, by accident I ended up with four pounds of yeast in late 2019.  

I use bread flour, a flour with a higher protein component.  This makes a stronger gluten, and I think a better bread than all purpose flour. I use the same brand of flour for greater consistency. Each flour will work a little differently.  The amount of flour that works well will vary with the flour itself, and with the humidity in the room. The recipe is a starting point, not a chemistry formula. If it seems to wet and sticky, add more flour, if it won't come together as a dough, add more water (or less flour.) 

Ingredients 

1.5 tablespoons of dry active yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 cups warm water 105 degrees F

1 tablespoon salt

5.5 cups of bread flour (give or take .5 cups) 

1-2 ounces melted butter

handful of cornmeal

1 egg white and an equal amount of water  

Dissolve sugar in the water, check the temp, you want over 100 (f) under 115 (f)

Stir in yeast, and set aside for 5 minutes or so to activate the yeast. It will bubble and become foamy in about 5 minutes. If it does not, the yeast may be dead, start over. 

Mix flour and salt. 

Pour in liquid, mix by hand to form a very stiff dough. 

Knead, either by hand on a floured work surface or with a dough hook in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes. I set the Kitchenaid speed on the second notch. 

Melt the butter, 

Butter the bowl, and turn the dough to coat, cover and set aside to rise for 1.5 to 3 hours, until roughly doubled. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Form into two or three loaves

Place on baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal.

Brush the top of the loaves with an egg wash made from the egg white and water. This will form a nice crust on the top. 

Bake 35-45 minutes, until golden brown.  When done, it will sound hollow when thumped on the top or bottom of the loaf. 

Cool on a rack, and enjoy. 

I baked these two on a pizza stone. 

The best book I have ever read on bread baking, is "Beard on Bread" by James Beard, published in 1973. It is well worth chasing down a copy.