| | Last August, I got the Bread Bible from the library. The Basic Soft White Sandwich Loaf was the best bread I've ever made. For a few weeks, I made it every weekend for our sandwiches, but I eventually decided that it was too rich for every day. (You can taste the lovely lovely butter.) I successfully modified it to use oil instead, and that's been our regular bread ever since.
In the finest food blog style, here's my recipe:
1 1/4 c + 1 1/2 Tblsp whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp yeast
2 Tblsp + 1 tsp honey
1 3/4 c water
In a large mixing bowl that has a lid,
whisk until smooth, should be a thick batter. Scrape down the sides. RLB calls this the "sponge."
In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c dry milk
3/4 tsp yeast
Spread over the batter:
Put the lid on and stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
The next morning, pull it out and let it come to room temperature.
the sponge will have broken through the cover.
Add:
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 1/4 tsp salt
Stir until dough-like
dump onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Don't be afraid to keep adding flour to keep it from being too sticky.
Cover the dough with the upturned bowl and let rest for 20 minutes.
Knead for 5 more minutes.
Rise 1: Grease the bowl, put the dough back in and cover. Allow to double in size.
Rise 2: Dump out the dough, give it a few folds to knock around the biggest air bubbles. Stick back in the bowl, recover, and again let double in size.
Shaping: Grease two loaf pans. Divide the dough into two pieces. I've started weighing them because you never know which half has all the air bubbles.
Pull the dough into a rough rectangle and then poke it down with your fingers to break up airbubbles. RLB's term for this is "dimpling."
Fold one side to the center, then bring the other side to meet it.
starting from the top, roll tightly towards yourself, trying to squash the air bubbles.
Hopefully, at this point it will be about the length of a loaf pan. Otherwise, roll and tug out to the full length to avoid short ends of the baked loaf.
Rise 3: Spray oil the tops and cover with cling wrap. Let rise until tops are 1 inch above tops of loaf pans.
Bake: 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover with foil and then bake for 20 more minutes.
Allow to cool completely. I suggest freezing the loaf you're not going to eat immediately.
the recipe all in one place:
Sponge:
1 1/4 c + 1 1/2 Tblsp whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp yeast
2 Tblsp + 1 tsp honey
1 3/4 c water
Cover:
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c dry milk
3/4 tsp yeast
Final step:
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 1/4 tsp salt
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| | Posted 3/15/2009 9:26 PM - 24 Views - 4 eProps - 2 comments
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