Simple Yeast Bread

Beer Battered Beer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:05:42 +0000

You don’t knead a machine to make great bread from scratch! Roll up your sleeves and get ready to make the best bread of your life!

My grocery store recently began to carry King Arthur bread flour, so rather than using the usual whole wheat, I thought I’d give it a try; here it goes…

Mix together:

3 c lukewarm water – 85-105 degrees
2 T yeast
1/4 c honey
1/2 c dry milk (optional)

Mix in 4 cups of flour. Once combined, beat 100 times. This is a sponge; a great way to start the yeast going before you add the salt; it should be the consistency of thick batter. Cover and let sit for 45 min in a warm area.

After 45 min or so (once it’s doubled), fold in 4 tsp salt and 1/3 cup of oil. Now mix in 3 more cups of flour. Get ready to start kneading. Dump the mess onto a floured surface, scrape out the bowl, and begin to knead, adding more flour as you go; about one more cup. Knead for 10 mins if you’re a fast kneader (20 kneads a minute), 15 if you’re slow. The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky, not sticky. Wipe your brow, the tough part is over. Coat the bottom of the same bowl from before with a little oil, no need to clean it out. Drop in the dough and give it a good swish to coat the bottom of it, then flip the dough over so the whole ball of dough is coated with oil. Cover the bowl and let rise ‘til doubled, about an hour.

Now, punch down the dough several times to press out all the air. Cover back up and let rise again ‘til doubled, about 45 min. (if you’re short on time, you can skip this step)

Cut the dough in half and shape into a loaf, either for a greased bread pan, or into a ball for a rustic loaf. With a sharp knife, slice the top to help with expansion and give it a cool design. Bake for about 55 min.

Mix together equal parts of softened butter and honey for a great spread. Yum…

Tastes Like Food » yeast bread

Simple Yeast Bread