I’m doing this one step-by-step with a new camera angle!
Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup scalded milk (I like 10% cream)
- 1/2 cup cold water, and 1 cup warm water for the yeast
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Scalding the milk means to bring it up to 195F.
- Let the milk cool to 140-150F, pour into a large mixing bowl, add the cold water and the temperature should be around 115F
- In a separate bowl, activate the yeast in 1 cup warm water, and whisk in the sugar. Let it sit for 5-15 minutes - at least 1/2" layer of bubbles on top.
- Gently whisk the yeast mixture into the milk, and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.
- Knead for 10-15 minutes, until the dough pulls cleanly from the edge of the bowl. If it seems too wet, keep kneading for another minute before adding 1 tbsp of flour. If it seems too dry, add 1 tbsp water and knead for another minute before making any more adjustments.
- Form the dough into a ball, and either spray with oil, or lightly brush with oil, cover, and put in a warm place for 1-2 hours (until it doubles in size.
- Punch the dough down to deflate, and consider letting it rise again if you have time.
- Form the dough into the shapes you want, let rise for at least half an hour in that shape or container, then bake at 350 for 10-30 minutes (small rolls to larger loaves), until golden brown, and internal temperature is 190F.
- Small rolls can be eaten fresh, loaves should be left to cool to room temperature on a rack.
Notes
3 tbsp sugar makes for a slightly sweet bread, if you want to cut it down, I'd recommend not going under 1, just so the yeast has something to eat.
For pizza dough, use 1 cup warm water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3 tsp of optional dried herbs (like basil, oregano, marjoram). Omit the milk and baking powder