Our family loves bread. We literally live on bread. For years we have been buying bread and I had never thought I would bake bread in my own home! Last year, in my yearly goals, I put in bread baking but never got to making that goal come to pass! Well, thanks to COVID-19, all the bread suppliers came to a grinding halt and I was left with no option but to bake my own bread.
Last year, when I wanted to bake, I searched the net for recipes and saved a few so that I wanted to try. With the onset of COVID-19 and no bread availability, I quickly searched through my saved recipes and found a recipe that looked simple enough. You can check it out at Soulful Bakes.
I have tried this recipe multiple times with great result.
I have modified this initial recipe to suit our taste. Just the way we like it. Soft and melt in the mouth!
Basic bread
This is a recipe for a basic bread which is our family favorite. This is super soft and dairy-free.
- 2½ cups maida/ All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil (Extra Virgin)
- 1⅛ tbsp yeast (Instant yeast)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup water (warm to touch; hot water kills the yeast so be careful. )
- 1 tsp butter (for applying over warm bread.)
Add sugar and yeast to the warm water and wait for about 10 min; it will froth. This shows that the yeast is alive and active
In a mixing bowl, add the maida and the salt. Mix it with a whisk.
Add the frothed up mixture of yeast, sugar and water to the mixing bowl.
Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to the mixture.
Knead it all to a smooth dough.
Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and knead one last time. Make a ball and cover with a kitchen towel. Leave it in a warm place to rise.
Allow it to rest for 1 hour or until the mixture doubles. This is the first rise.
After an hour, punch down the air from the dough and roll it into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface and then roll it like you would roll for a swiss roll/log.
Prepare the bread pan by lining with oilve oil and lightly dusting it with flour.
Transfer this log into a bread pan.
Allow it to rise for half an hour. This is the second rise.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Put the bread pan in the oven and bake it for 25 min or till the top is lightly browned. You will also smell the aroma of freshly baked bread.
Remove the bread pan from oven, brush the top with butter.
Put the bread pan back in the over for about 5- 10 min for the bread to brown.
Remove from oven and transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Brush with more butter.
Wait for 10 min, slice and serve warm. We can never wait more in our home.
The amount of water depends largely on the maida and the humidity of the place.
The same recipe requires more water about 1/8th of a cup when made in a less humid place.
The recipe can be made with 1 tbsp of oil but the bread feels more like paav. With 4 tbsp oil, it is soft and springy!
