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Bread

Plain Bread

A simple yeast bread made with flour, salt, water, and yeast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Plain Bread

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the sponge

  1. Dissolve the yeast cake in ½ cup lukewarm water for about 10 minutes.

  2. Combine salt, water, and enough flour to make a stiff batter.

  3. Add the dissolved yeast.

  4. Beat for 2-3 minutes.

  5. Place the mixture in a warm place to rise overnight until it doubles in size.

Knead and shape

  1. Add enough flour to form a dough that doesn't stick to your hands.

  2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.

  3. Knead for 2-3 minutes.

  4. Let the dough rise again until it is 2.5 times its size.

  5. Mold the dough lightly into pans.

  6. Cover the pans.

  7. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.

Bake

  1. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until the loaf is nicely browned and feels light when removed from the pan.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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
Provides the gluten-forming protein that builds the bread's structure and chew.
Yeast cake
Produces carbon dioxide as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
Salt
Controls yeast activity and strengthens the gluten for a firmer crumb.
Water
Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and dissolves the yeast to start fermentation.

The step that matters

Kneading and the second rise. Dough that is kneaded too little or rises too little can give a dense loaf, because gluten needs working to trap the gas yeast produces. Letting it rise until doubled lets the bubbles expand before baking.

“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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