If you want your homemade bread to be as light and fluffy as possible, follow a basic recipe and structure it in three individual pieces. This technique allows you to aerate the dough and to bake an extremely soft and light bread. When it's time to put it in the oven, remember to follow a few simple rules to make sure it's as soft as possible. Once cooked, you can amaze diners with your delicious homemade bread.
Ingrediants
- 1 large egg
- 160 ml of milk
- 45 ml of hot water
- 550 g of flour (plus an extra tablespoon)
- 60 g of sugar (plus an extra teaspoon)
- 6 g of instant baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) of sea salt
- 60 g of butter
- Oil to grease the pan
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare the Dough
Step 1. Pour the egg, milk, water, flour, sugar and yeast into a bowl or stand mixer
The most convenient solution is to use a food processor to mix the ingredients. Alternatively, you can use an electric whisk. Put the egg, milk, water, flour, sugar and yeast in the mixer or in a large bowl.
Step 2. Mix the ingredients for 3 minutes
Set the robot or whisk to the lowest speed available and mix the egg, milk, water, flour, sugar and yeast for about three minutes. Slowly they will blend and begin to form the dough.
Step 3. Increase the speed a little and mix the ingredients for another 4 minutes
Increase the power slightly and knead the dough for another four minutes.
Step 4. Add the butter to the dough and reduce the speed again
Re-adjust the robot or whisk back to minimum power and then add the butter. Resume kneading at the lowest speed for 12 minutes. At the end of this phase, all the ingredients should be perfectly blended.
- Take the butter out of the fridge half an hour in advance and let it cool to make it easier to incorporate it into the dough.
- At this point the dough should be firm and uniform.
Step 5. Cover the dough and let it rise for 90 minutes
Put the cling film on the tureen or on the planetary mixer and then let the dough rest at room temperature for an hour and a half. At the end of the rising period, its volume should be doubled.
Part 2 of 3: Shaping and Baking the Bread
Step 1. Separate the dough into three pieces
After letting it rise for 90 minutes, place it on a lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal parts.
Step 2. Let the loaves rise for 10-15 minutes
Cover them with a clean tea towel and let them rise for another 10-15 minutes in a quiet corner of the kitchen.
Step 3. Shape the pieces of dough to form cylinders
Roll them gently on the floured surface. Work one serving at a time with clean hands. You need to get cylinders about 30 cm long and 15 cm wide.
Step 4. Shape the bread
Take a cylinder and gently fold it in half as shown in the image. You will get a rectangle with a parting line where the two halves of the cylinder have joined. At this point, work the dough by rolling it gently on itself to obtain a cylinder again. Repeat the same operations with the other two portions of bread.
Step 5. Transfer the three pieces of dough to a baking sheet
First you need to grease it with oil - for convenience you can use that spray. The pan needs to be about 25cm long to allow you to arrange the loaves close together, but separate. There shouldn't be much space around the bread. While baking, the three pieces will come together again to form a single large loaf that is very soft and light.
Step 6. Let the dough rise a little longer
Cover the pan with cling film and place it in a corner of the kitchen where the bread can rise undisturbed for another 60-75 minutes. Slowly the dough should grow further and come to touch the film that covers the pan.
Step 7. Bake the bread at 190 ° C for 35-40 minutes
Put it in the preheated oven and let it cook for at least half an hour. You'll know it's ready when it's crisp and golden.
Initially let it cook for 30 minutes. If it's still not ready, wait another 5-10 minutes. After the first half hour, check it at intervals of 2-3 minutes until it is perfectly cooked
Step 8. Let it cool down
Take it out of the oven and wait a quarter of an hour before removing it from the pan to cool on a rack. Let it cool for another hour on the grill before cutting it into slices.
Part 3 of 3: Rules for Making Bread Soft
Step 1. The yeast must be fresh
Even if you follow the instructions perfectly, the bread will not be as soft as you want if the ingredients are not fresh. Yeast plays a key role in making bread light, fluffy and well leavened, so check the expiration date on the package to make sure it hasn't expired.
Step 2. Evaluate the elasticity of the dough
Just do a simple finger test. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough and then press it with your finger until it falls back 2-3 cm. If it is ready to be baked, it will slowly regain its shape, even if a small depression will remain.
Step 3. Invest in quality flour
You will be rewarded with a good soft and light bread. Choose the best flour available on the supermarket shelves. It is worth spending a little more to get a bread with unique characteristics.
