White Bread

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cold water

2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 1/3 cups whole milk

3 1/3 cups flour plus dusting flour

 

For herbal bread, choose from the following: 

Basil: 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon grated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil, 1 teaspoon minced onion.

Caraway: 2 tablespoons caraway seed, substitute 1 cup of rye flour for 1 cup of white flour 

Dill: 2 tablespoons dill seed, 1 teaspoon pressed or grated garlic, 1 teaspoon minced onion

Fennel: 3 tablespoons fennel seed

Italian: 1/2 tablespoon dried leaf basil, 1/2 tablespoon dried leaf oregano 1 teaspoon grated garlic, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese 

Rosemary: 5 tablespoons fresh, minced rosemary 

Thyme: 4 tablespoons fresh thyme and 1 tablespoon grated or pressed garlic

 

Instructions: 

Warm water to 117° F. 

Add sugar to water and stir until dissolved. 

Add yeast to sugar water.  Stir in. 

Let stand for about 15 minutes or until yeast foams well. 

Grease a large bowl with butter. 

Butter the interior of a 9″x 5″x 4″ loaf pan.  Chill loaf pan until ready to use. 

Melt the remaining butter.  Do not brown.

Add milk to butter.

Sift flour into a bowl.

Whisk together 2 cups of flour and the salt in a large bowl. 

When yeast has proofed, bring milk and butter combination to 117° F.

Combine proofed yeast with warmed butter and milk. 

Use a wooden spoon to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (4 – 5 minutes) until the mixture is smooth. 

Add any herbal combination, if desired.  Stir to distribute throughout the dough. 

Slowly incorporate remaining 1 1/3 cups flour, 1/3 cup at a time.  Mix the flour in until a soft dough forms, which leaves the side of the bowl. 

 

Cook’s Note:  The dough will be slightly tacky but can be handled with one’s bare hands.  Reaching this stage may require less, all, or slightly more of the 1 1/3 cups flour.  Do not add too much.

 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured, large piece of parchment paper on top of a cutting board. 

 

Cook’s Note: The dough will come off the parchment paper on a pastry board with more ease than on an actual flour dusted pastry board, thereby minimizing the use of dusting flour. 

 

Knead the dough for 10 minutes. 

Form the dough into a ball and place in prepared, greased bowl.

Cover the dough with a clean cotton towel. 

Allow dough to rise in a warm place, until double in size, 1 – 2 hours (depending on the temperature of the warming place).

Place a clean piece of parchment paper on the pastry board. 

Punch dough down and knead 3 minutes by hand.

Form dough into a loaf the length of the prepared loaf pan.

Place dough in the prepared loaf pan.

Cover with a clean cotton towel. 

Allow the dough to rise, in the warm place, until approximately 2″ above the rim of the loaf pan (2-3 hours, depending upon the room temperature). 

When the dough has finished rising, heat oven to 350° F.

Once heated, bake bread for 30-40 minutes or until the loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.

Turn out loaf onto wire rack to cool. 

Serve.