This recipe reminds me of my childhood, baking bread with my Mom. She often made bread from scratch when we were young before life got complicated. All by hand, no stand mixer as a helper. She had me to help knead.
It’s not a complicated recipe. It uses regular ingredients. And it is fast. No, having to let it sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator; this is a recipe where you can be rewarded with warm bread in under 3 hours, most of that being hands-off. It’s a soft loaf, a fine crumb. Moist. The perfect bread for soft butter spread on it.
The recipe makes two loaves: one for eating and one for slicing up and freezing, for days when you don’t have the energy to bake a loaf but still want homemade bread.
Daily White Bread
Ingredients:
- 720 grams of all-purpose flour + more for kneading
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 4½ tsp dry active yeast (2 packages)
- 2 cups warm water (120°)
- ¼ cup olive or avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
Add 240 grams of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a stand mixer bowl.
Add in the water and oil, and let mix on low, then on medium for 3 minutes.
Put the dough hook on and add 360 grams of flour. Beat it in until smooth.
Lightly flour a work surface. Scrape out the dough and knead by hand for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Add the dough and flip it over to coat. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm place for an hour or until it doubles. In cooler homes or in winter, placing the bowl on a heating pad helps with the rise.
Lightly oil 2 9″x5″ bread pans.
Gently punch down the dough and divide it into two halves.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll each half into a 16″x8″ rectangle. Roll dough up tightly, on the 8″ side. Press the ends with your thumbs after each turn and picnh gently the bottom seam of the loaf.
Place each loaf into a prepared pan.
Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes or until the dough is about an inch above the pan edge.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°.
Bake bread for 40 to 50 minutes, golden brown. (Ours took 50 minutes)
Knock bread out onto a cooling rack; brush melted butter on top of loaves.
Let cool for an hour before slicing.
Bread can be sliced and then frozen for having bread on hand.
Makes 2 loaves.
~Sarah