Easy White Bread - Best Recipe for Beginner Bakers
Author: Whats4Chow
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Universal
In today’s episode we’re going to make a really easy white bread. In fact, this is probably the easiest, beginner baker’s white bread ever. This recipe will make two loaves of around 750g each. If your dough mixer has a bowl smaller than 5 liter capacity, then I would recommend halving the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1000g Strong white bread flour
- 8g Instant dry yeast
- 30g Caster sugar
- 14g Non-iodated salt
- 4 Tbs Full cream milk powder
- 30ml Oil
- 560ml Warm water (non-chlorinated)
Instructions
- To start, measure out 1kg of strong white bread flour, 8 grams dry yeast, 30g caster sugar, 14g fine non-iodated salt, I am using Himalayan… 4 tablespoons full-cream milk powder, 30ml oil, and 560ml warm non-chlorinated water.
- Place all of the ingredients into your mixer bowl, starting with the water. This makes it easier for the mixer to combine everything properly.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer if you haven’t already done so, and start the mixer on minimum speed for 1 minute.
- After 1 minute, increase the speed to the second lowest speed for a further 4 minutes.
- At this point, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and all ow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
- After the resting time, restart the mixer on the second lowest setting and knead the dough for a further 4 minutes, until it is nice and smooth.
- Cover the bowl again with the towel and allow this to prove for 60 minutes in a warm place. I you don’t have a suitable warm place, then heat your oven until just warm and place the bowl in your oven to rise.
- Turn the dough out onto your work surface and shape it into a ball by cupping your hands and pushing inward underneath the dough while simultaneously turning the dough.
- Use your dough scraper to cut the dough into two equal pieces.
- Reshape each these two into round loaves by cupping, pressing inward and turning.
- Transfer the two loaves to a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
- Using a sharp blade, score an X into the tops of the loaves. This is not really for decoration, but rather to allow the loaves to rise sideways and upwards, instead mostly upwards.
- Use a misting sprayer to mist the loaves liberally all over. This will prevent the dough from forming a dry layer on the outside, ensuring a nice rise with no tears or splits in the surface.
- Place the sheet in a warm place to rise for a further 60 minutes, or until tripled in size. Give the loaves an extra spritz of water if you see them drying out during this time, and once again, if you don’t have a suitable warm area to place the tray, warm your oven and put them in there.
- Preheat your oven to 200c or 400f. Spray the loaves liberally again using your sprayer bottle, and bake the loaves for 20 minutes until golden, and they sound hollow when tapped.
- And here is the result. The loaves are beautifully soft, with excellent oven spring and a lovely open textured crumb. Allow the loaves to cool on a rack before cutting. The bread freezes exceptionally well in loaf-form or sliced and packed into plastic bags or cling-wrapped, and can be defrosted naturally or in the microwave oven.
