Bloggin' Mommy: Bread Basics

One of my newest obsessions in the kitchen is bread making. YUMMY! Tonight I made a simple classic white sandwich bread. The recipe is from King Arthur Flour and is also a recipe I found on another blog (www.breadexperience.com). It's a great bread recipe to start with and build on.
The following is the 12-step process to delicious bread.

Step 1.
Gathering Your Supplies

Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and laid out prior to starting. This is not only to keep you organized, but will also increase your chances of having a successful loaf of bread. I love using the little Pyrex glass ramekins. They work great!

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons, to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1 heaping tablespoon honey (I prefer clover honey)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour**
1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules

*Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.

**You may or may not need all of this four and you also might need more water to achieve desired consistency.

Step 2
Combining Ingredients

For this step I choose to use my Kitchen Aid mixer and the dough hook.
Combine all the ingredients as listed above.
**Tip: When you add the flour add small amounts at a time. If the dough gets too dry add a little bit more lukewarm water.
Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, place dough on the counter, sprinkle with flour, and knead the dough.

The dough should be bouncy and elastic in your hands. It should not be stiff.

Step 3
Primary Fermentation

This step is the key to having a great loaf!

Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl. I used cooking spray to grease my bowl. Next cover bowl with plastic wrap or a towel.

If possible place the bowl in a warm area and allow the dough to ferment for 60-90 minutes.
**Tip: I pre-heat my oven to 100 degrees F. Then I turn off the oven and place my bowl inside with the oven door cracked.

After 60-90 minutes, the dough should be puffy and almost doubled in size.

Step 4
Punching Down

During this step we will remove the bread from the bowl and place it on the counter. This step is also called degassing.

Steps 5 and 6
Dividing and Rounding

Dividing the dough into individual pieces is the next stage, followed by rounding (a preliminary shaping) and benching (a rest period).

Since we're only making one loaf, we do not need to divide our loaf and we also do not need to round the dough either since we are making it into a loaf.

Step 7
Benching

During this step the bread is typically left alone to allow the gluten to relax and make the bread easier to work with. The dough is already easy to work with, so we do not need to do this step with this bread. Flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 10-9 inches by 6 inches.

Step 8
Shaping and Panning the Loaves

Simply roll the dough up jelly roll style. Starting from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough into a log shape one section at a time. Lightly press the seam close and roll the loaf back and forth to smooth it out. Place loaf into a bread pan seam-side down. The ends of the loaf should touch both ends so that the loaf will rise evenly.

Step 9
Proofing the Loaf

Cover the loaf and let it rest for 60-90 minutes.

Again, I placed mine back into the oven to speed up the proofing.

The dough should crown 1"-1.5" over the rim of the pan.

Step 10
Baking

Now it's time to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees place the pan in the oven to bake. Bake the bread for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes tent the loaf with aluminum foil and place bake into the oven. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes till its golden brown on the outside. The internal temperature should be between 195°F to 200°F.