Bread Baking: Basic Yeast Bread

This is a German recipe, but is really a blank slate. It tastes amazing and can be varied almost infinitely.

Basic Yeast Bread:
4 cups (500g) flour
1 generous cup (250mL) warm water (body temperature)
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Add warm water, dry yeast and sugar to a bowl, mix and let stand a few minutes.

In a separate bowl, add flour and salt and combine. You don't want the salt to meet the yeast directly, or it will kill your yeast. Add water mixture to flour and mix until you can't anymore.

Then turn the dough out on a clean surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is dry and slightly sticky.

Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. About an hour.

Then punch down the dough and knead for one minute. Roll into whatever shape you want and place into baking pan.

Cut the top of the dough, if desired.

Let rise another 20 minutes.

Bake at 350°F or 180°C in the middle of the oven with a pan of water on a lower level.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when knocked on the crust.

 Brush butter on the top of the bread while still warm. Turn it out of the pan.

 Cut the bread into slices.

 The crust has a lovely crispness to it and the middle is soft. After the bread has been in a plastic bag overnight, it softens the crust, if that's what you prefer.

Watch us make this bread on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/49Z_LBrI_Qs
Schaut zu wie wir dieses Brot auf YouTube machen hier. https://youtu.be/_FEe9LbfvCs