Bread (video needs to be re-recorded)
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
Here’s the instructions in a little more detail:
Scald the milk (approx 190-195F but not boiling), let it cool down to 115F
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water, and milk.
Let the yeast do its thing for 10-15 minutes.
Add the flour (sift if needed, most modern mills have great quality flour and this is not necessary),
baking powder, salt, and oil, and knead for at least 10 minutes.
The dough should cleanly pull away from the bowl. If it doesn’t, keep kneading.
If the dough is too stiff, add a tablespoon of warm water, and keep kneading.
If the dough is a wet, sloppy mess, add 2 tablespoons of flour, and keep kneading.
Make sure you’ve given kneading the ingredients together a real try before you start adding water or flour.
If your bowl is spotless, congratulations, roll the dough into a ball, use a teaspoon of oil to coat the dough, put the dough into the bowl, and cover with cling wrap, or a lint-free towel. Leave the bowl in a warm place (oven with the light on is usually sufficient), anything over 80F is fine, stay under 95F.
After an hour, the dough should have doubled in size.
Punch it down, and now you get to decide how many times you’re going to let it rise.
Some people think more is better, but 2 times is sufficient for me. With multiple rises, the bubbles get more and more fine texture (like brioche). I’ve heard that 5+ rises is just silly, and I’d have to be really bored to try it.
Either way, I recommend you punch down the dough, cut it into the rough size and shapes you want, pop it into the loaf pans (buttered/greased/sprayed with oil, and optional coat the pan with cornmeal, and tap out the excess in your sink) or sheet if you’re making buns, cover again, and let it rise. My pans are still in great condition, but when they wear out, I’ll be lining them with parchment paper. You don’t want to be over 50% in the bread pan because the dough will rise again.
Lightly cover the dough, and let it rise again.
Pre-heat the oven to 350, and bake until internal temperature is 190F for “regular” bread to 210F (rustic or artisan breads typically need higher temperatures), top should be golden brown, and the time will be anywhere from 10 minutes for small buns to 30 minutes for larger loaves. Either way, a toothpick should come out clean.
When it’s done, remove from the oven, pop the loaves onto a rack, and let cool completely.
Rolls can be eaten warm, but loaves should cool completely before you cut them.
You need to make notes for your oven, size of loaves, etc. Have fun with it!
Check out the link on glazes and washes
Variants: