Sunday, August 19, 2012

White Bread


I have been LOVING what the dry milk and potatoes does to the bread. The fluffiness and moister they provide reminds me of good ol’ white bread. So that is exactly what I decided to try next.


SIDE NOTE: White flour is white because of the addition of a bleaching agent but it is really just refined flour. Refined flour has the germ and bran removed from the kernel and can be bleached or unbleached.


This bread turned out amazing. I have family nearby that act as my taste testers and they said this bread has been the best I've made so far. That made me so happy, maybe I am getting the hang of this bread baking. The bread is very flavorful, even for white bread, but compliments sandwich fillings nicely.

FUN FACT: According to this website, before erasers were invented and people were writing with graphite, they used a wadded up piece of white bread as an eraser.


The crust was not very hard and there was not very much of it, which is always a plus in my book. Also, the crumb was very tight, but still soft and springy.


Overall I think this might be my new go-to white bread recipe.

FUN FACT: Some forms of white bread were found in tombs of ancient Egypt! I wonder how stale it is.

White Bread

Ingredients:

1 package dry active yeast
1½ cups water
½ cup and a pinch of sugar
1 egg
½ cup oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup dry milk
½ cup potato flakes
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups Bread Flour
4 to 5 cups All-purpose flour

Directions:

In a bowl place the yeast, a pinch of sugar, and ½ cup warm water. Mix until the yeast is dissolved and then let sit until foamy about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the egg, oil, remaining water, remaining sugar, milk, potato flakes, salt, and 1½ cup bread flour. Mix on low until all the ingredients are combined.

Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and mix well.

Begin adding flour ½ cup at a time beginning with the remaining bread flour. Make sure each ½ cup of flour is fully incorporated before adding the next ½ cup.

When all the flour has been added, the dough should be soft, slightly moist, and elastic. Knead by hand for 3 to 5 minutes to smooth out the dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in size about 2 hours.

When the dough has finished rising, remove it from the bowl. Slowly flatten the dough by hand to smooth it out and then roll it up like a jelly roll to make the top smooth.

Place the dough in a greased 9x5 loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise until it reaches the top of the pan.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

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