Basic Bread Baking

Scale: 

Get all of your ingredients out. Weigh all of them separately before you begin. This is a very accurate way of measuring out your ingredients. Use small bowls for your smaller amounts. Make sure to have your water in your large bowl (the one you plan to mix with)

Combine: 

With your large bowl, disperse the yeast into the water then swish your finger or the other end of your mixing spoon. Just enough to bubble it up a bit. Let sit for just a couple of minutes. Once you see a light foaming from the yeast, that means you’re ready to move on. Next, add your flour, then salt on top. you don’t want the salt and yeast to come into direct contact.

Mix: 

This is where you get to choose if you want to use your spoon or your hands. I use a little of both. I start with my spoon to get most of the water mixture, then I go in with my hands. You should end up with a slack, wet dough.

Rest: 

Step away, and let your dough rest for about 20 minutes. You can toss a towel over the top of the bowl.

Fold: 

This is my favorite part. This gives your dough strength so it can hold its shape when baking. This is what is called gluten development! While in the bowl, stretch and fold your dough. Imagine your dough has four corners. Pull each corner up, and stretch it over to the opposite side. Repeat for all sides about three times, or until it becomes a tight ball and is no longer stretchy.

Rise: 

Flour your towel back a bit, and place it over top of the bowl. This is the time where your dough is going to grow. So, go make a cup of coffee or tea and go enjoy your life for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Shape:

 Gently turn your dough over onto a floured countertop. Shape by giving it a gentle letter fold – fold the far/top side down to the middle. Now fold the bottom up to meet the seam, and seal it. Turn the seam vertical, and repeat that last step. You should end up with a rounded rectangular shape. I the dough seam a little loose still, you can repeat it. The dough should be nice, and tight.

Proof: 

Place your shaped dough in a greased loaf pan (seam side down). Proof until it starts to rise, and come over the top of the pan a little. Think of a mushroom, or muffin top. Go, and enjoy your life again for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until you see it “mushroom”.

Preheat: 

Place your oven rack on the bottom level. Preheat to 375F.

Brush: 

After the dough has been proofed and ready to go into the oven. Make your dough even better with this optional step. Whisk your egg and milk together to make an egg wash for the top. If you’re not using the wash, then just use water. This prevents your dough from forming too hard of a top in the oven.

Bake: 

Bake dough for 45 minutes. At 20 minutes check your dough to make sure it is not browning too quickly. If it is then place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top. When it’s done the dough should sound hollow when you thump the bottom.

Cool: 

Last but not least cool your dough on a baking rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting.