Loaf Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Dissolve the lard and salt in warm water.
Add the yeast, then gradually stir in the flour with a spoon.
Set the dough to rise in a warm place overnight.
Shape and bake
In the morning, mold part of the dough into rolls for breakfast.
Knead the remaining dough thoroughly on a floured surface, dividing it into three parts.
Place the dough in buttered tins, either separately or in one long tin.
Let it rise until almost at the top of the pans.
Bake for about 30 minutes, keeping the oven closed for the first 10-15 minutes.
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
- Fine white flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the loaf its structure.
- Yeast
- Produces gas during the long rise, which leavens the dough and opens its crumb.
- Lard
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and gives a tender texture.
The step that matters
Keep the oven closed for the first 10-15 minutes. Opening the door early lets heat and steam escape while the dough is still expanding. The loaf can then rise poorly or collapse and turn dense.
“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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