Making bread from scratch

I will fully admit that I'm a carbohydrate addict. I love bread, pasta and potatoes. In my quest to cut out processed foods I realized that I was going to need to find a recipe for bread that not only was fairly simple to make but tastes good as well.

My first attempt was well received by John and his mum but didn't meet up to my standards of a good bread, so it was back to the drawing board.

My latest attempt was up to my standards, and I used my new Kitchen Aid mixer so it was extremely easy as well. It doesn't contain any eggs or dairy so I could share the recipe with my mum so she could enjoy it as well.

The ingredients are pretty simple and basic and I just use my kitchen aid mixer and the dough hook to do all the work.

Ingredient List:

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 packet, if you buy them in those)
1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115 F, if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast so just use a meat thermometer to check the temp first)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour (I use an ultra-grain all-purpose flour and it turns out great)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt (I don't care for salty things so I cut it down to about 1/3- 1/2 teaspoon)
1 Tablespoon olive oil (plus extra to oil the bowl


Directions:
Add the yeast, water, 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the mixer and blend it until it is all mixed. Turn off the mixer and let it sit for 10 minutes (when you come back the yeast will be bubbly)

Add the remaining flour, sugar and salt and mix it until all the flour is mixed in, this takes a few minutes. When all the flour is mixed in add the 1T of olive oil and let it mix for about 10 min or until the dough is all smooth.

Transfer the dough to a bowl that you oiled, don't be afraid to use more than a light oiling on the bowl, then roll the dough around in the excess oil then cover with a wet tea towel and place it in a warm spot for about an hour (or more) until the dough has doubled in size.

After that hour has passed and it's double it's original size, punch it down then roll it into it's desired shape and put the wet tea towel on it again until it is once again doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 425F but when you go to put in the bread, turn the temp down to 400F.  It normally takes about 20-30 minutes for the bread to bake.  Don't put the bread on the top rack of the oven because it tends to burn the crust. You can tell the bread is done when you thump the bottom and it makes a hollow sound.




I decided to make a bread bowl with this bread for John and discovered the importance of putting a lot of oil into the bottom of the baking dish, I couldn't get it out of the casserole dish I used and had to serve his dinner in that along with some hot pads so he wouldn't burn himself.

Until next time,

Jessa