Idiot Proof White Bread Recipes

Steps:

• In a large electric mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk. Add the remaining warm milk, the sugar, the salt, the butter and the eggs. Add 5 cups flour and mix with paddle attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes. Switch to hook attachment and knead on low speed, adding more flour if necessary until dough is stiff and slightly tacky, about 10 minutes.
• Grease a large bowl with butter and turn dough out into the bowl. Flip over dough so greased side is up, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Generously butter two 9-x-5 loaf pans.
• When dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Return to greased bowl, cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
• Press down dough with your hand to expel the air. Divide dough in half and place each half into a loaf pan. Brush tops of loaves with remaining melted butter.
• Cover and let rise until dough is just above the tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped, the tops are brown and the internal temperatures are 200 degrees. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Mix the flour and table salt in a large bowl.
• Rub in the fresh yeast, or stir in the easy-blend yeast.
• Add the oil and tap water and mix to combine.
• tip onto a lightly floured surface and knewad for 6 minutes.
• Put back into the bowl and seta aside to rise for about 1 hour.
• Knock back the dough by punching the air out of it. Shape into a ball and put on a large, lined baking tray.
• Set aside to rise for about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 220 C / fan 200 / gas 7.
• Dust the loaf with flour and cut a deep cross in the top.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked an golden brown. It should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
• He recommends slicing it into 8 huge slices like a cake to eat. We love it this way, but more usually we cut it into normal bread slices, probably about 12 of them.
• Notes:.
• Make sure that the salt is well mixed into the flour because if salt comes into diret contact with the yeast it'll kill it (think salt on slugs -- ).
• Using warm water is one of those things perpetuated in recipe books written by cooks who made the odd loaf but weren't bakers. Warm water speeds up the rising process, but it's to the detriment of flavour (says baker Paul Hollywood).
• Kneading - use a really lightly floured surface, like a dusting of talcum powder - and knead lightly with the heel of your palm and finger tips.
• There's no need to cover the dough when rising (I did - Chef UK). Sometimes, if you've left it for a long time, it gets a thickening on the outside, but don't worry. There's no need to find a warm place either; just anywhere out of your way. It'll take longer to rise, but the flavour will be better. The dough is ready when doubled in size. Knocking it back when it has risen will improve the flavour. Shape the loaf rather than knead it (although I knead it lightly for 1-2 minutes Chef UK) - add olives or chopped nuts at this stage too.