Plainwhitebread Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in lard, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Steps:

• Add all ingredients, in order, to bread machine.
• Bake on quick (58 minute) cycle.

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle or dough-hook attachment. Add butter and remaining 1 3/4 cups water and 3 tablespoons honey. Whisk flour with salt; add 3 cups to yeast. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until dough comes away from sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball. Butter a large bowl.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball. Transfer to prepared bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough stand in a warm place until it doubles in volume (it should not spring back when pressed), about 1 hour. Butter two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch down dough; divide in half.
• Shape 1 dough half into an 8 1/2-inch-long rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Fold long sides of dough in to middle, overlapping slightly. Press seam to seal. Transfer dough, seam side down, to pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush each loaf with butter, or dust with flour for a rustic look. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drape loaves with plastic. Let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Let cool slightly; turn out loaves. Let cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch down dough. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°., Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the egg, shortening, sugar, salt and 5 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes., With a sharp knife, make five shallow diagonal slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Brush with butter.

Steps:

• Select Dough setting on your bread machine.
• Put ingredients in the machine in the order suggested by your machine manufacturer. Let rise. about 90 minutes, until double in size.
• Meanwhile, generously butter your Pullman Pan and lid.
• Remove dough from machine. Handle dough with greased hands. Form into a log approximately 12-13 inches long. Place in pan, pressing the ends into corners and pan edges.
• Place lid on, leaving open about an inch so you can peek.
• Let rise until about 2/3 full, or about an inch and a half from the pan top. About 60 minutes. Near the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350.
• Close lid fully. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove lid. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown or desired crust color is achieved.
• Internal temp of bread should be 190 f when tested with an instant read thermometer.
• Remove from pan to rack. If desired, brush crust with butter for a softer crust. Let cool before slicing. Store in airtight bag.

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl or liquid measuring cups yeast and sugar over water and whisk to combine. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Place salt, remaining two cups warm water, and about 3 1/2 cups flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. Attach dough hook to mixer; turn mixer on and off a few times just to incorporate flour. Add 1 cup flour. With mixer on low, slowly add yeast mixture and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough comes together, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. If dough does not come together, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Continue kneading on medium speed for about 5 minutes Add butter and continue mixing dough, 4 to 5 minutes. Dough may come apart before coming back together.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Butter a large bowl and transfer dough to prepared bowl, turning dough to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Butter two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans; set aside.
• Place dough, top-side down, on work surface to deflate; divide dough in half. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, use the palms of your hands and fingertips or a rolling pin to pat dough into a 7-inch square.
• Place dough on work surface so one of the short sides is facing you. Starting with the bottom edge, roll dough and pinch to seal seam. Place roll in pan, seam side down. Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
• Spray two pieces of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loaf pans with plastic wrap, sprayed side down. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, growing over tops of pans, and when pressed gently with your finger an impression remains, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees on a conventional oven or 400 degrees on a convection oven with a rack set in the center of oven.
• Transfer pans to oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (conventional) or 350 (convection) and continue baking until honey brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each loaf reaches 205 degrees, about 45 minutes more.
• Transfer to wire racks. Let cool slightly; turn out loaves. Brush tops with butter and let cool. Do not cut until almost cool.

Steps:

• Mix 500g strong white flour, 2 tsp salt and a 7g sachet of fast-action yeast in a large bowl.
• Make a well in the centre, then add 3 tbsp olive oil and 300ml water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add another 1-2 tbsp water and mix well.
• Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for around 10 mins.
• Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight.
• Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Knock back the dough (punch the air out and pull the dough in on itself) then gently mould the dough into a ball.
• Place it on the baking parchment to prove for a further hour until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
• Dust the loaf with some extra flour and cut a cross about 6cm long into the top of the loaf with a sharp knife.
• Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• 1. Make the sponge. In a mixer bowl or other large bowl, combine the flour, water, honey, and instant yeast. Whisk until very smooth, to incorporate air, about 2 minutes. The sponge will be the consistency of a thick batter, Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
• 2. Make the flour mixture and add to the sponge. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour (reserve 1/4 cup if mixing by hand), dry milk, and instant yeast. Sprinkle this on top of the sponge and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow it to ferment for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature. (During this time, the sponge will bubble through the flour blanket in places: this is fine.)
• 3. Mix the dough.
• Mixer Method Add the butter to the bowl and mix with the dough hook on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) for 1 minute or until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough dough. Scrape down any bits of dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough on medium speed (#4 KitchenAid) for 7 to 10 minutes. It will not come away from the bowl until the last minute or so of kneading; it will be smooth and shiny and stick to your fingers. With an oiled spatula, scrape down any dough clinging to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is not stiff, knead in a little flour. If it is not at all sticky, spray it with a little water and knead it in. (The dough will weigh about 44.25 ounces/1258 grams.)
• Hand Method Add the salt and butter to the bowl and, with a wooden spoon or your hand, stir until all the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it onto a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, enough to develop the gluten structure a little, adding as little of the reserved flour as possible to keep the dough from sticking. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point, it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. (This resting time will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.)
• Knead the dough for another 5 minutes or until it is very smooth and elastic. It should still be tacky (sticky) enough to cling slightly to your fingers a little. If the dough is still very sticky, however, add some of the remaining reserved flour, or a little extra. (The dough will weigh about 44.25 ounces/1258 grams.)
• Both Methods 4. Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 4-quart dough-rising container or bowl, lightly oiled with cooking spray or oil. Push down the dough and lightly spray or oil the surface. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark the side of the container at approximately where double the height of the dough would be. Allow the dough to rise (ideally at 75°to 80°F) until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough onto a floured counter and press down on it gently to form a rectangle. It will be full of air and resilient. Try to maintain as many of the air bubbles as possible. Pull out and fold the dough over from all four sides into a tight package, or give it 2 business letter turns and set it back in the container. Again oil the surface, cover, and mark where double the height would now be. (It will fill the container fuller than before because it is puffier with air.) Allow the dough to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until it reaches the mark.
• 5. Shape the dough and let it rise. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and cut it in half. Shape each piece into a loaf: begin by gently pressing the dough (or lightly rolling it with a rolling pin) into a wide rectangle; the exact size is not important at this point. (A long side of the dough should be facing toward you.) Dimple the dough with your fingertips to deflate any large bubbles. Fold over the right side of the dough to a little past the center. Fold over the left side of the dough to overlap it slightly. Press the center overlap section with the side of your hand to seal the dough. (If you have a lot of experience shaping, you may prefer at this point to rotate the dough 90 degrees-a quarter turn.) Starting at the top edge of the dough, roll it over three or four times, until it reaches the bottom edge of the dough: with each roll, press with your thumbs to seal it and at the same time push it away from you slightly to tighten the outer skin. As you roll and press, the dough will become wider. If it is not as long as the pan, place both hands close together on top of the dough and, rolling back and forth, gradually work your way toward the ends, gently stretching the dough. For the most even shape, it is important to keep a tight skin on the surface of the dough and not to tear it. If you want the edges of the loaf to be smooth, tuck the sides under.
• Place the loaves in the prepared loaf pans; the dough will be about 1/2 inch from the top of the pans. Cover them with a large container, or cover them loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise until the center is about 1 inch above the sides of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When the dough is pressed with a fingertip, the depression will very slowly fill in.
• 6. Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F 45 minutes before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it, and a cast-iron skillet or sheet pan on the floor of the oven, before preheating.
• 7. Bake the bread. Quickly but gently set the pans on the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately shut the door. Bake for 50 minutes or until medium golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 210°F). Halfway through baking, turn the pans around for even baking.
• 8. Glaze and cool the bread. Remove the bread from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Brush the top of the bread with the optional melted butter. Unmold and cool top side up on a wire rack until barely warm, about 1 hour.
• ULTIMATE FULL FLAVOR VARIATION
• For the best flavor development, in Step 2, allow the sponge to ferment for 1 hour at room temperature and then refrigerate it for 8 to 24 hours. If using the hand mixing method, remove it from the refrigerator about 1 hour before mixing the dough.
• POINTERS FOR SUCCESS
• • If not using the dry milk, you can replace 1 cup of the water with 1 cup milk, preferably nonfat, scalded (brought to the boiling point) and cooled to lukewarm.
• UNDERSTANDING
• A greater amount of sponge dough starter (pre-ferment) offers a fuller flavor in this "plain" bread, so almost 50 percent of total amount of flour is used in the sponge, compared to the usual 30 percent of hearth breads.
• If using liquid milk, it is scalded to deactivate the enzyme in it that could make the dough sticky.
• Baking the bread at too high a temperature, would result in too thin a crust, which would cause keyholing, or caving in at the sides of the loaf. Therefore, this bread is baked at 350°F. It is also important for the bread to be thoroughly baked so that the crust is firm enough to prevent it from compressing. The loaves should not be cut until completely cool for the same reason.
• THE DOUGH PERCENTAGE
• Flour: 100% Water: 66.3% (includes the water in the butter and honey) Yeast: 0.74% Salt: 2.3% Butterfat: 15.9%