At home, you can bake any type of bread: white, gray, black, plain or with a variety of toppings. You don't have to buy a bread maker to do this. Delicious loaves, loaves and loaves can be cooked in a conventional oven.
You can bake bread from wheat or rye flour. White bread is made from premium flour, gray - from a mixture of premium and first grade. To make rye bread, mix equal parts rye and wheat flour. Choose flours that are high in gluten. The dough will rise better and the bread will be soft and tasty.
Use dry or fresh yeast to ferment the dough. The first ones are stored longer; before use, they must be diluted with warm water with a small amount of sugar. Fast acting dry yeast is added directly to the flour, without prior reconstitution. There are yeast on the market with the addition of vanillin or garlic powder, they are suitable for making flavored bread.
Fresh yeast dries quickly and becomes inactive. To keep their properties, store them in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in cellophane. The shelf life should not exceed two weeks. Freezing will help to increase this period. Frozen yeast does not lose its properties for up to 3 months.
Observe the exact proportions of the food. For 1, 4 kg of premium flour, 25 g of fresh or 15 g of dry yeast, as well as 900 ml of liquid (water or milk) are required. For bread made from first grade flour, you need to double the amount of yeast. Bread baking can be accelerated by 25 mg of ascorbic acid added to the yeast. When using it, the amount of yeast should be reduced.
Try white bread with premium wheat flour. It turns out to be very delicate and airy. Start with a basic recipe. Having mastered it, you can diversify baked goods by adding herbs, nuts, cinnamon, dried fruits, olives and other ingredients to the dough.
The dough is conveniently kneaded in a food processor. To make it rise faster, place it in the microwave for 15 seconds after mixing.
Dissolve 25 g of fresh yeast in 900 ml of warm water. Leave the mixture warm for a quarter of an hour. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar, 4 teaspoons of salt and 2 tbsp. tablespoons of odorless vegetable oil. Sift 1, 3 kg of wheat flour and pour it into the dough in portions. Knead it for 7-10 minutes until smooth. Then put it in a ball, put it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Leave the dough to rise for 1 hour. Then place the dough on a board and knead for another 3 minutes.
White bread can also be made with milk mixed with water in equal proportions. In this case, the vegetable oil must be replaced with butter
The dough can be formed into loaves, braids or loaves, but the easiest way is to bake it in tins. Take classic metal rectangular shapes or replace them with clay pots. Grease 3 containers with butter, divide the dough into three parts, roll each portion into a ball and place in a mold. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave for 45-60 minutes. During this time, the volume should double. For future loaves to acquire a beautiful silky crust, brush the surface of the dough with milk, sugar syrup or a beaten egg. Place the molds in an oven preheated to 220 ° C. Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, then remove from the molds and refrigerate on a wire rack.
