White Bread

I haven't been making bread in a while. I have a really good recipe for white bread which I've made a few times but I love trying out new recipes. This recipe is pretty good. I used the wrong technique to form the loaf though, so the crumb was a bit too loose for a proper sandwich bread. Other than that, the texture and flavour was good.

This recipe is adapted from Taste and Tell.

Ingredients:
2 1/8 cups unbleached bread flour
a large pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 large egg ; slightly beaten (at room temperature)
29 grams butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk (at room temperature)

Instructions:
Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Pour in the egg, butter, and milk and mix until all of the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball. If the dough seems very stiff and dry, add more milk until the dough is soft and supple.

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading, adding more flour, if necessary, to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky. Continue kneading for 6 to 8 minutes. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 80F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Remove the fermented dough from the bowl. Shape into a loaf. Lightly oil a 8½ by 4½ inch loaf pan and place the loaf in the pan. Use the roll method for tighter crumb.

Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush with egg wash (if desired).

Bake loaf for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through for even baking. The top should be golden brown and the sides, when removed from the pan, should be golden. The internal temperature should be close to 190F and the loaf should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

When the loaf has finished baking, remove it from the pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.