Basic Bread

Tags:[baking bread]

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Fresh yeast plus a pinch more
• 1 1/4 cup water warm (not hot)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3-3 1/2 cups Flour

Instructions

1. Place the yeast and water in a small mixing bowl and mix until dissolved.
2. Add the sugar and mix well until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Allow the yeast to bubble a little before moving to the next step.
4. Move the yeast mixture to a large mixing bowl or a bread maker.
5. Add the salt, oil and flour and mix well. If using a bread maker, choose the kneading program. If using a bowl, mix until the ingredients are incorporated then move the dough to the table and knead there.
6. Knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic and a little sticky but not too much so that you are not able to work with it. If it sticks to the bowl or bread maker, it’s to wet. Add a little more flour if this happens.
7. Clean the large mixing bowl, dry and lightly oil it.
8. Move the dough back to the large mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This prevents the dough from getting dry.
9. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (it could take up to an hour in colder kitchens)
10. Pre heat the oven to 350 F.
11. Remove the wrap and gently punch the dough to remove air bubbles.
12. Move the dough to the table and roll it. Alternatively you can spread it into a rectangles then fold the sides in until you get a smaller, narrower rectangle that fits into the loaf pan.
13. Add a strip of baking paper to the bottom of the loaf pan and the ends. This will help you remove the bread when done.
14. Move the roll/rectangle to the loaf pan, with the seams down.
15. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let the dough rise again until it doubles in size.
16. Place a rack in the middle of the oven, add the loaf pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is lightly golden. It should sound hollow when tapped on top. If you want an extra crispy crust, keep baking for additional 5 minutes.
17. Remove the loaf pan from the oven and take the bread out using the baking paper strip.
18. Allow the bread to cool on a rack or cutting board until safe to touch.
19. Wrap the bread in a dry kitchen towel made from 100% cotton. Allow to completely cool then it’s ready to serve
20. Store wrapped in the kitchen towel, in large a zip bag, at room temperature for up to 5 days.