This recipe is for 2 loaves of what I call basic bread. It is similar to what I learned to make from my Mom growing up on the farm. It uses dry yeast and is made on the same day as baking; there is no levain or poolish although it is easy to separate out a portion of the flour / water and the yeast the night before if you want to try it.
Makes two large loaves approximately 700g each or three smaller ones just under 500g each or make two decent sized loaves of 550g and use the extra dough to make a large cinnamon roll or deep fried scone – a treat for the baker!
1 tbsp yeast (~20 g)
Bloom in ~1/3 c of warm water
175 g milk
40 g sugar
75 g butter
Heat milk , butter and sugar to scald; remove from heat and add 175 g cold water to cool the mixture.
Add 1 beaten egg to the cooled milk mixture.
Weigh 730 g flour – can use a mix of bread flour and All-purpose or all of one or the other. In this particular case I used 400 g of bread flour, 280 g AP and 50 g dark rye flour.
20 g salt
If using a mixer, weigh flour and salt into the bowl, add milk mixture and bloomed yeast. Mix on low with bread hook approximately 10 min. Scrape the sides of the bowl; a few grams of extra flour may be needed but do not add too much.
Turn out onto floured surface and lightly knead until soft and smooth, not sticky, about 5 minutes. Place into clean bowl, cover and set in a warm place to double about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Turn onto floured surface and fold into itself to remove the gas and return to the bowl, cover to rise to double about 45 minutes.
Turn onto floured surface and separate into portions for loaves (see above weights and options).
If using metal loaf pans, grease the pans before shaping the loaves and placing into the pans to proof. Cover to proof before baking.
Heat oven to 425 F whilst bread is proofing.
Bake to golden brown about 35-40 minutes. For the first 15 minutes of baking the oven can be sprayed with a mister every 5 minutes to enhance the golden crust.
Bon Appetit!
