Loaf White Bread ~ A Super Easy Bread for Beginners

I love to cook but have never been patient enough for serious baking. I also love bread but don’t have a good bakery close, so I figured why not try to do it myself? Because I’m not an experienced bread baker, I wanted to try a simple, basic bread recipe for every day use. I started making bread about 8 months ago and now it’s just part of the family routine.  

This recipe I adapted from breadbaking.about.com is a great and easy one, even for beginners.   In addition to being super inexpensive, I can adjust the taste and seasoning depending on how it will be eaten.  I chose this recipe because I  was short on time.  This was a really good bread and very quick to make.  The bread came out crusty on top, soft and dense inside, and sliced up perfectly. I made some subtle changes: I mixed salt with flour, mixed the yeast with the warm water and sugar, and I used butter instead of shortening because I like the taste better. I think this would be a very easy recipe for someone who hasn’t baked bread before.

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

Ingredients:
¾ cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vegetable shortening (I use butter)

½ cup milk

3 cups all-purpose flour, approximately

Directions:

1.       In a small bowl, add the warm water and sugar.  Sprinkle dry yeast over water and stir slightly.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes or until yeast starts to bubble.

2.       In a small saucepan, add milk and butter and heat until warm to the touch.

3.       In a large stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix in the first 2 cups of flour and salt on low speed.  Add milk mixture and then yeast.  Begin adding the last cup of flour gradually until dough begins to form and starts moving away from the sides of the bowl and clinging to the dough hook.

4.       Turn dough out onto floured board and knead, adding small amounts of flour.  You will knead the dough an additional 8-10 minutes until it is soft and smooth, not sticky.  If you added to much flour, your dough will be heavy and dense, causing gluten to form.

5.       Spray large bowl with non-stick spray and place dough in bowl, turning once to coat.  Spray a piece of plastic wrap and cover bowl.  Let rise in a draft-free spot for one hour. 

6.       After the first rise, take dough out of the bowl, place on a floured board, and punch down slightly.  Shape dough into loaf and place into a greased 9 x 5 inch pan.  

      Cover again with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.  Do not let the bread rise above the top of the pan.

7.       After the second rise, bake on preheated oven 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C for 45 minutes until top of loaf is brown.

8.       To enhance the appearance of the bread, run a stick of butter over the top for a nice sheen.  Let bread cool entirely.  Use a serrated knife to slice the bread.

Bahasa Indonesia
Bahan:

¾ cup air hangat

1 bungkus (2 sdt) ragi kering

1 sdt garam

1 ½ sdm gula

1 sdm vegetable shortening (saya memakai butter)

½ cup susu

3 cup terigu serbaguna, kurang lebih

Cara:

1.       Dalam mangkuk kecil, campur gula, air, dan ragi.  Biarkan ragi bekerja selama sekitar 10-15 menit atau sampai berbusa.

2.       Dalam panci kecil, lelehkan mentega dengan susu dengan api kecil.

3.       Aduk 2 cup terigu dan garam dengan mikser kecepatan rendah (gunakan hook untuk adonan roti).  Masukkan campuran susu dan ragi. Tambahkan sisa terigu secara bertahap sampai  adonan mulai menyatu.

4.       Letakkan adonan di  atas meja kerja (talenan kayu atau marmer) dan uleni dengan menambahkan terigu sedikit demi sedikit sampai kalis selama sekitar 8-10 menit. Jangan menambakan terigu terlalu banyak karena akan menyebabkan adonan menjadi berat dan padat sehingga terbentuk gluten.

5.       Letakkan adonan di dalam mankuk yang  telah diolesi minyak, tutup dengan kain lap atau plastic wrap selama sekitar 1 jam sampai adonan mengembang 2 kali lipat. 

6.       Kempiskan adonan, uleni sebentar dan bentuk seperti loaf dan masukkan ke dalam loyang ukuran 9 x 5 inch yang telah diolesi minyak. Tutup dengan kain lap dan istirahatkan kembali sekitar 30-45 menit.  Jangan biarkan adonan mengembang melebihi tinggi loyang. 

7.       Panggang dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan terlebih dahulu dengan suhu 350 derajat F atau 180 derajat C selama 45 menit sampai permukaan berubah menjadi coklat keemasan.

8.       Keluarkan dari oven, olesi dengan mentega agar permukaan mengilap.  Biarkan dingin dan potong dengan  pisau roti.