Bread Baking at Home

So... baking bread at home is something I've tried numerous times with mostly an unsatisfactory result. I've tried different recipes but none have turned out the way I liked.

I've decided to give it another go when the day was sunny and warm'ish (to aid with the rising and proofing). Armed with information and tips from various cookbooks and from the internet and of course with the help of my 3yr old assistant, I tackled a petit pains au lait.

The recipe from "The big book of bread" (by Anne Sheasby) is for long rolls but I opted to make round rolls. By doing this I had to change the baking time to 20-25 mins.

I think this bread is best eaten straight out of the oven as the outside is crunchy and the inside is very soft. You can still eat it a couple days later but I suggest you place in a warm oven to refresh the bread.

Dry ingredients in my big bowl

After kneading, we rolled the dough into a ball, getting it ready for it to rise. (the smaller one was 3yr old's dough)

After leaving it to rise for a couple of hours. It doubled in size

We rolled them out to small rolls. As you can see, 3yr old helped because they weren't quite perfectly round.

Baked bread.

RECIPE

450g strong plain flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

55g diced butter

1 tbl caster sugar

2tsp dried yeast

About 300ml warm milk, plus extra for glazing

1. Grease or flour 2 baking sheets. Sift the flour and salt into large bowl, then rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar and yeast. Make a well in the centre, then add enough milk, mixing to form a soft dough.

2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball then place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

3. Knock back the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 portions and shape into 13cm long rolls and place on baking sheets, spacing them well apart. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

4. Preaheat oven to 200c. Slash the top of reach roll diagonally several times at regular intervals, then brush with milk.

5. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.

I hope you try to bake bread at home not only because you know what ingredients went into your bread but also it makes your house smell wonderful!

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie