if you follow me on twitter or facebookyou would know that there was a day in january where we had a huge snow storm and i got to stay home from work.  that day i decided it would be the perfect weather to bake some break. also, i had no bread at home and it looked very cold outside so it was the perfect time to start.   i got a few cookbooks for holiday and birthday presents, including ‘itsacookbook’ from IM and ‘grandma’s best recipes’ sent to me by his sister. i am so thankful she did because in a word, this book is awesome! it has a ton of recipes i have already consulted the book in many occasions and have marked recipes i will be making soon.  this is where i got the recipe for white bread!!

INGREDIENTS:
(makes 1 loaf)
1lb (3 cups) of strong* white flour + 2tbsp for dusting
1tsp of salt
1/4oz or 1 envelope of easy blend-dried yeast
1tbsp vegetable oil or melted butter + 1tsp for greasing (or baking spray)
300ml/10fl oz of warm water
1 cookbook :)

*i don’t know what strong white flour means. i used all-purpose flour.

INSTRUCTIONS:
mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a mixing bowl.

add the oil and water.

stir to form a soft dough. by the way, i was very happy to use my new mixer!

knead the dough with the dough hook for 4-5 minutes.  if you don’t have a mixer, knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes.

the dough should have a smooth appearance and feel elastic.

cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

i also covered with a kitchen towel because the plastic wrap did not want to stick to the bowl.

wait one hour…

after an hour go look at the mixture. if you are like me you will be giddy and amazed at how cool yeast is. i have only recently started working with yeast and really enjoy it. the fact that one little packet can do so much is pretty cool. yes i can be a science nerd. i know.

anyway, when the dough has doubled in size turn it onto a floured surface.

knead for 30 seconds; this is apparently known as ‘knocking back’.  knead it until smooth.

shape the dough into a rectangle the length of the tin you will use and three times it’s length.

grease the tin well. i used baking spray but you can use butter or oil if you don’t have any.

fold the dough into three lengthways.

put it in the tin with the joint underneath for a pretty loaf.

cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

go have a dance party for 30 minutes.

after 30 minutes check on the dough. this is so cool! look at how high it is now!

stick it in the oven.  ok, so the book said 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.  my oven is a bit temperamental so i had it on 325°F and it baked perfectly, so feel free to adjust the heat if you have an independent thinking oven. bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes until firm and golden brown.

test that the loaf is cooked by tapping it on the bottom.  it will sound hollow if it is ready.

take out of the tin and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. it will smell really good and you will want to cut into it right away, but don’t. wait the 30 minutes and then enjoy. trust me.

it keeps on an airtight container for 3-4 days.

it didn’t last that long for us. we ate it in 2. what can i say, it was really good either by itself or served with butter and jam.

we also ate it on its own and it did not disappoint.

thank you so much IM’ sister for the wonderful cookbook!

thank you for stopping by. hope you try making it at home!