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Best home made bread so far


CygnusV

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I've played around with making my own bread for ages now, but was never that impressed however I made it. My mushroom shaped loaves tasted okay, but the crust could break your teeth if you toasted it. This was especially true with my sourdough bread.

 

I decided to treat myself at Christmas to a Pullman loaf tin and have made white, wholemeal, various seeded and sourdough breads with it since getting it. These are all sandwich loaves and they've all been excellent! Really nice sandwich bread that also makes toast perfectly, crispy crunch crust but no dental damage. We've actually stopped buying commercial bread and now make all our own.

 

I bought the Pullman tin from bakerybits.co.uk (no connection) I got the smaller one they offer as we only have a small oven. The tin itself is very good quality and (I hope) should last for years. The tin has a sliding lid which acts as an oven in its own right. The following basic white bread recipe works really well for me and I'm well impressed with the result. I also bought a non electronic stick in thermometer which I found helpful and a proper teaspoon / tablespoon measure.

 

Recipe.

 

450 grammes Allinson strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting.

270 grammes (ml's) water

25 grammes butter

1 tsp sugar (not essential but I found it speeds thing up in none sourdough bread)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp's Allinson dried yeast

 

You'll need to adjust quantities for the larger tin they supply.

 

Warm your mixing bowl by swilling hot water around.it. Empty the bowl and add 270 grammes of water heated to around 30 - 40 degrees (no hotter) centigrade. Measure the water temperature when in the bowl ensuring that the temperature remains between 30 and 40 centigrade. Add the sugar and the yeast. Stir well to dissolve. Add the salt to the measured bread flour and add to the mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden or plastic spoon to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.

 

Transfer the raw dough to a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes only. Dust the bowl and place the roughly kneaded dough back in there. Allow the dough to stand for 15 minutes covered with clingfilm. While covered stick the thermometer into the dough to make sure its temperature is around 30 degrees.

 

After 15 minutes is up, transfer the dough back to your floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. Place back in the bowl and allow to rise for between 30 and 45 minutes. I keep the area warm and after 30 minutes the dough trying to get out of the bowl.

 

Butter the Pullman tin, including the lid and place in a warm spot. After this first rising remove the dough and knock it back down. Place it in the Pullman tin and use your knuckles to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the tin. Cover the tin with the clingfilm from your mixing bowl and place the tin in a warm place. The dough will rise fairly quickly so keep an eye on it. When it has risen about 3/4 of the way up the tin preheat your oven to 200C. As the dough gets almost to the top of the tin remove the clingfilm and slide the lid closed. When the oven is ready slide the tin in for 25 minutes by which time the bread should be ready. Check with your thermometer that the internal temperature in the centre of the loaf is over 93 degrees. In our oven, after 25 minutes the bread hits around 98 - 100 degrees.

 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. It should taste great and the toast will be excellent!

 

We usually allow the loaf to cool, slice, have a slice apiece with butter and freeze the rest.

 

Just for information, make sure your yeast is in date. Allinsons will store for a year or more - until you open it. Once opened it should be kept in a fridge and used within 4 months.

 

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An yes, freezing is good. Chris eats lttle bread but each week bakes enough for me to last the week plus enough for her needs. Each night she takes out enough for the next day and it is always good. We have not eaten shop bread for years preferring to use our bread maker.

Phil

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