Easy Soft white bread

Soft white bread

A nice slice of fresh bread; especially that which you have made yourself, is definitely something to look forward to in the morning. After many trials and fails, I have been able to come up with this very simple and cheap recipe. This recipe uses water as the liquid but will soon share the recipe that incorporates milk, which is slightly different.
Be sure to share your pictures and comments!

Note: I used all purpose flour. You can switch with white bread flour which will give you better volume.

Ingredients

1. 350 g all purpose flour
2. 180 ml lukewarm water
3. 10 g sugar
4. 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. Butter/margarine for greasing baking equipment
7. Oil for greasing

Steps

3hours (2 1/4 hr wait period)

1. Check your temperature of water to ensure its adequate for activating the dry yeast. Dip your finger in the water and if it is hot enough but not burning your finger,its the right temperature. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve then sprinkle the yeast on the water surface and let is sit for 8-10 minutes until foamy.

   

    

    

2. To your flour, add the salt and mix well with a spoon or your finger. Take the now activated yeast mixture and pour into your dry ingredients. Mix very well using a wooden spoon until no more dry flour can be seen. cover with a plastic wrap or tea towel and let is sit undisturbed for 20 minutes. It will have risen a bit after the 20 minutes rest period and you can see the gluten already stretching

   

    

   

    

   

3. Lightly flour your work surface and place the now hydrated dough on it and start kneading. Knead for 10-12 minutes until you get a smooth dough that springs back when lightly pressed. The dough will be sticky but do not add too much flour during kneading. Place in a lightly greased bowl and smear some oil on the top of dough to keep it from drying. Cover and let is sit in a warm place for 1 hour to double in size.

   

    

   

    

   

4. Lightly flour your work surface, punch down the risen dough and roll it out to a rectangle shape using a rolling pin. Using your hands, roll the dough into a sausage shape that is the same size of your baking tin.

   

    

   

    

5. Grease your baking tin and place your shaped dough inside. cover and let is rise for 45minutes in a warm place in your kitchen, until double in size. 15 minutes to the end of the second rising of the dough, pre-heat your oven at 200 degrees Celsius.

   

    

   

    

6. When your timer goes off, bake your bread at the middle rack for 35 minutes. To know if your bread is ready, tap it and if it sound hollow, its ready! immediately transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing and enjoying your labor of love!