Рецепт Soft Homemade White Bread
Would you believe we are not big bread eaters? While I love bread, I really only love homemade bread. It is what I grew up on. Mom most always had bread in the oven and to this day, when I visit home, the bread on her counter is rarely from the store and she most always has some in her freezer. As I read that last sentence over, it reminded me that Mom isn't much different than Nanny was - except that it was cookies and not bread that Nanny always had on hand!
Grumpy, he prefers store bought bread. While yes, I agree it is softer, I also say it has too many chemicals in it. Why else can it sit on your counter for more than a week and not get moldy?
An issue I would always have in our old rental was I had a hard time finding a warm, draft free place to put my bread while rising. One of the things I love about our new home? The floors are SO warm. :) Great place to sit my bread to rise! Oh, our house! I haven't shared any photos here. We are still in the process of putting things away and setting up, but I love my dining room area. I love the hardwood floors, the big sliding door, all the light that comes into the main floor of the home. I also really love where our dry bar and my pallet board wine rack is and how the track lighting lights it up when its dark out. :)
On my snow day, I also made the Venison and White Bean Chili, along with the Meyer Lemon Curd. I love the warm comforting feeling you get with the aromas of freshly baking bread in your home and the added warmth of the chili just put it over the top for me that day. It just reminds me of, well, home. I realized that I just don't make homemade bread often enough and I plan to remedy that. I also plan to make this place feel more like home every day!
I chose this recipe because a friend of mine was looking for the "softest bread ever" and we decided to bake different recipes on the same day. This bread did turn out pretty soft, but I have to admit, after day one, it no longer was as soft as it was when it was fresh. Still, it was pretty darn good and none of it went to waste. I ended up taking a couple slices each day to work and toasting it for my breakfast. Would I make it again? Sure. But like my friend, I'll probably keep searching for another recipe to try.
My loaves didn't get real big because my bread pans were too big for this recipe. I wanted two loaves and doubled the recipe however I would need to probably triple it next time for 2 loaves and would use bread flour instead of all purpose. I also changed the method just because it is the way I always make my bread no matter what a recipe states. I use my KitchenAid however, you don't have to use a kitchen aid for this, you could do it all by hand - or you could probably mix it right in a bread machine pan. I probably wouldn't bake it in the bread machine myself but I don't see a reason why you couldn't. I found the recipe on Kurryleaves. Be sure to check out the site. Very nice photos!
Soft Homemade White Bread
adapted slightly from Kurryleaves
makes 2 small loaves
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups warm almond milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4-1/2 cups white all purpose flour
- 2 packets instant yeast
Instructions:
In Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl add ingredients as follows: Warm almond milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, salt, all purpose flour. Make a small well in the flour and pour the yeast into the well.
Add dough hook attachment and turn mixer on slowly. Let turn until dough begins to form on low speed. Stop mixer as needed to put flour down sides of bowl to allow to incorporate. Once dough has formed, turn mixer onto a slightly higher speed and "knead" the dough, approximately 7 minutes. Add more flour by the tablespoon if need. Dough should still be very soft but not wet.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Knead a few more times. Place in a lightly oiled bowl (I use my kitchen aid bowl - I just wash it first) and cover with wrap. Set in a warm, draft free spot and let rise until double. About 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape into 2 loaves and place in bread pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sit in a warm, dry place and cover with a towel until dough has risen to the top of the bread pan (or slightly over). About 1 hour. Place in oven pre-heated to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately rub the top of loaves with a butter if desired.
Tips:
How to know if the bread is really done? My mom taught me to tap the loaves when you think they look like they are done. They should have a hollow tap.
Mom always used the stick butter to rub the top of the warm loaf. She would remove some of the paper and just rub it over top until it was covered.
If you don't want to add the butter to the top because of the added fat, you can just put the warm loaf of bread in a bread bag. Do not close the bag, let it sit loosely open until cooled. The condensation will keep the crust soft!