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 ...