Everyday Bread

INGREDIENTS

Yields 1 large loaf.
Scald50g brown bread flour7g salt, not iodised10g sugar15g oil120g boiling water
Main Dough250g cool water1 full teaspoon good quality yeast (purple packet Anchor is the best, only one that is consistently reliable)450g white bread flour

METHOD

Make the scald by adding the ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well. Add in the cool water and mix well. Dip a clean finger into the mixture to gauge it's temperature - you want it tepid, not hot. When it is OK, add in the yeast and mix well to incorporate. Finally add in your 450g flour. Mix lightly with a large spoon.
ImportantMake sure you are using good yeast. If it is dead, the bread will be horribly dense. We can't stress this enough! Most bread fails are simply down to inactive yeast.

Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Now give it a good mix in the bowl for a few minutes until it binds into a rough ball of dough. Don't add flour! Cover bowl well with a piece of Clingwrap.
Leave it to rise in a cool place for 4-6 hours until the dough is about tripled in size and full of gas. I summer, you may need to do this in the fridge. In winter, it may take 8 hours or more to proof.
During this time, give the dough a 'stretch & fold' . That just means stretching the dough out from under itself and gently folding it over itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat a few times until you have a neat ball of dough again. You can use your slightly wet hand or a silicone spatula. You can do this process once. We sometimes do it twice for extra strength.

Prepare a large loaf tin (called the 900g tin) by lining it with baking paper. Set aside.
Punch down dough and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Now use your hands to press it down into the shape of a rough rectangle. Fold the edges into the middle then roll it up like a swissroll. Elongate it slightly by gently rolling the loaf, hands on it's edges, on the surface of the table. You may use a light sprinkle of flour now to stop the dough from sticking to the counter. Make sure to pinch the seams tightly. Then place it carefully, seam-side down, into the prepared tin. (If you are unsure, Google 'how to shape a batard loaf'.)
Dust lightly with flour then place a piece of plastic loosely over. Alternately, you may brush it lightly with olive oil.
Allow to rise until the top of the bread reaches just past the lip of the pan. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Now remove the plastic, give the bread a good dusting with flour again or another brush with the olive oil. Cover carefully and refrigerate until ready to bake (between 2-6 hours).
>Note: If your fridge is very cold, like ours, you want to make sure that the bread is almost fully proofed before refrigerating. However, if your fridge is not set on the coldest setting, or you are expecting load shedding, then be careful as the loaf will still continue rising in the fridge. This takes a bit of trial and error to get right. >If it so happens that you forgot about it and the loaf rose too much in the tin, bake it immediately. There's no good trying to refrigerate it.

Half an hour before you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190°c, fan assisted.
Remove bread from the refrigerator and take off the plastic in one quick, fluid motion. If it stuck to the bread, remember to put more flour/oil next time.
Do the jiggle test:Lightly wobble the loaf tin. Does the bread-dome jiggle or is it firm? Or is it sunken?
1. If it has a light jiggle to it, this is the ultimate bread. It is full of gas and will be lovely and fluffly - very light. This is a perfectly proofed bread. 2. If it is firm, this is a slightly underproofed bread. You can go ahead and bake it, it will still be great as long as it has risen above the pan lip. To help this loaf, score it. You can Google that for exact instructions. 3. Unfortunately, if it has sunk then it overproofed and there is nothing to be done. Just get it in the oven as soon as possible! It happens to us every now and again. The bread will still be edible, just a bit coarse and slightly sour.
When oven is fully preheated, place bread inside and bake for 40-45 minutes or until well golden brown. You can tap it lightly and it should make a hollow knocking sound. It must not feel soft at all.
Take out of the tin carefully and place on cooling rack. Peel of the baking paper. Cool for at least 30-40 minutes. If you slice while it's too hot it will crumble and appear gummy.
Enjoy sliced and smeared with fresh butter, honey and jam. Also makes delicious sandwiches when sliced thin! Although for sandwiches we prefer our Sandwich bread, recipe in profile. Toast it, if desired, on the second day. It also makes fantastic croutons- just remove crusts, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with herbs and pepper. Bake till crisp.

Even the worst bread fail can be saved by turning the loaf into breadcrumbs!

INFO & TIPS

>This recipe has been well tested! You can tinker with it until it suits your family's taste and schedule.

>Long rising times = the most delicious bread you have ever tasted!

Notes:
>Adjust the water amount in the main dough by adding/subtracting 15g until you are happy with the crumb of the baked bread.
Higher hydration means a looser bread with larger holes.

>Do not add any flour at all when kneading. You can use a silicone spatula to clean your hands and then wash it thereafter! It helps to dampen your hands when working with sticky dough.

>Brown flour is more nutritious and tastier than white but it produces a much denser loaf. You can use as much or as little as you prefer. The most well-rounded loaf in our experience is a 30% brown, 70% white.

>You must have a digital scale and bread flour to make good bread, there is no way around it.

>Scalding is an ancient technique that makes bread even softer. You can apply it to any yeast dough. Check the site Chain Baker for more information.

POSTED ON

11 Dec 2023

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