Let’s all rejoice!

I give you the rest of the week off. Just enjoy it.

I have succeeded in making bread at home. Almost from scratch. I didn’t make the yeast, neither did I milk the cow or pick the wheat myself to be ground. That still counts as “from scratch”, right?

All I did was open the pack of bread flour, mix the ingredients well and wait.
Then wait. Then sleep, wake up, prepare the dough. Wait some more. Bake. Wait while it bakes. Only then one will be able to be sure of the results of his work.

Now let me go a little poetic (try to, DON’T PANIC, I won’t be a poet with such barely climbing towards humble writing) describing the bread making process.
Bread-making is a sensual process that involves pouring yourself into the dough you’re working with. The dough feels you. It feels your confidence as well as your fear. The more you work the dough with love, the better it will be. Let your fingers caress the soft surface of the elastic mixture of life itself and get your heart to send away……Oh shut up!

That’s not always the case. I kneaded doughs that failed despite working with passion and confidence.

What is different this time is that I gave it time. I worked it well while kneading and gave it time for the yeast to grow and work its magic. I also made sure the oven was really hot when I put the loaves in to bake then reduced the heat.

Apparently, all these factors helped giving this amazing result. I know keys now, and I shall use them.

Sandwich Bread Recipe 🍞

Makes 2 loaves
Recipe from TheKitchn.com

Ingredients

• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 cup warm water (warm enough to put your finger in it for a few seconds)
• 20g unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 5 1/2 – 6 1/2 cups (around one Kilogram) bread flour (Zero)

Procedure

• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl and leave for 5 minutes
• Melt the butter and mix with the milk, white sugar and salt
• Pour over the yeast mixture along with the 1 cup of flour and mix to lumpy mixture
• Add 4 1/2 more cups of flour and stir until a dough starts to form. Add more flour if needed
• On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-7 minutes, adding more flour to avoid sticking, until the dough is coherent, elastic and bounces back when poked. This will help the gluten form which is essential in bread making
• Sprinkle flour in the bowl, return the dough and cover and keep in a warm place to rise, away from drafts, like an unlit oven, or under a blanket for at least an hour. I worked on mine at around 10pm and left it overnight to continue working on it at 9am the next day
• After the first rising, remove from the bowl, and on a floured, divide into 2 and shape into rough balls
• Rest the dough for 10 minutes, then push down into a rough rectangle
• Fold the upper third down, and the lower part up. Pinch to close
• Fold in half and pinch to close, making sure that the surface facing the counter is untouched. This process tightens the surface of the loaf to create a crust and allow a good rising in the oven
• After folding, place the log shaped dough into a greased loaf pan and leave to rise for 40 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature. Repeat with the second ball of dough
• Heat the oven to high heat. When the second rise’s time is done, slash the top of the loaves with a sharp serrated knife or a razor
• Lower the heat of the oven to medium and bake for 30 minutes until the outer surface is golden brown and it sounds hollow when touched
• Remove from the pan and cool on a rack before slicing with a serrated knife or a bread knife. Or give in to temptation and slice off the always-neglected first slice, enjoy the steam coming out of it spreading the aroma of freshly baked bread in the house and dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Cover and keep in a cool place

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