Nothing beats the smell of baked bread in the house and it is the reason why I am into my 3rd loaf in less than a month. While searching for something that is reviewed and rated favorably, I came across this recipe from King Arthur Baking because of the number of thumbs up it earned from readers. The recipe did not disappoint.
My KA did most of the hard work. The tangzhong is an additional step to yield a soft bread that lasts a while longer. When the process is properly mapped out, the preparation of the dough is actually quite easy.
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
250g lukewarm water
50g olive oil
85g honey
2.5 tsp instant yeast
Dry components:
397g bread flour
28g milk fat or milk powder
1 ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
Method:
Make Tangzhong:
From the water, use ½ cup of water + 2 tbsp of bread (listed under ‘Dry’).
Whisk and cook over medium heat until mixture turns slurry.
Remove to cool.
Yeast Prep:
From ‘Wet’, use 2 tbsp of water and mix with the yeast.
Reserve.
Main dough:
In a mixer, add remaining water, oil, honey
Add cooled Tangzhong.
Add yeast mixture.
Add flour, milk powder, salt.
Knead the mixture until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Remove mixer dough hook.
Leave to rise, about 2-3 hours, covered.
Meanwhile, prepare a 8 by 4 inch bread pan, greased and dusted. Non stick works fine too.
On a dusted worktop, tip over the risen dough and fold it until dough forms a ball using a scrapper.
Leave to rise until the dough crowns the pan by about an inch.
Fill a metal pan with boiling water.
Place a rack over the water pan.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
While waiting, mist spray the dough to encourage oven spring.
Bake the bread at 180C for 35-40 mins. I baked mine for 38 minutes.
When done, remove bread immediately to cool.
Brush with butter while the bread is hot.
Slice when the bread is totally cooled.
Keeps soft for 2 days outside. Freeze it you wish to store it for longer. Freezing also helps lock in the freshness of the bread.
Enjoy!
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