Plain Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
In a separate bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
Add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix until a dough forms.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Shape the dough into a loaf and place it in a greased loaf pan.
Let it rise again for 30 minutes.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the bread its structure.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so the gluten can develop and the dough becomes elastic.
- Active dry yeast
- Ferments sugars in the dough, producing gas that makes the loaf rise.
- Coarse sea salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens gluten, adding flavor to the bread.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise until doubled. The first rise develops gas and flavor in the dough. Under-proofing leaves a dense loaf, while over-proofing can collapse the structure and weaken the rise in the oven.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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