Super Easy Yeast Bread Recipe
This bread is foolproof, flexible, and incredibly beginner friendly! It's my staple recipe, I hope you enjoy <3
450g plain or bread flour [3 cups]
7g (or one packet) instant yeast [2.5 tsp]
Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast into a large bowl and mix.
Pour in cool water a little at a time, loosely mixing in between pours.
Using a handheld mixer with dough hook attachments, a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon and a lot of courage, mix well until all water is incorporated. The mixture will be slightly too wet to handle, don't worry about this!
Tip dough mix out onto a well-floured surface and with floured hands, begin to incorporate sprinkles of flour into the mix until it is workable, but still slightly sticky to touch.
Knead dough for ~10 minutes. [If you're a beginner to kneading, basically push the flat part of your palm into the dough away from you, then fold the dough back toward you, and repeat :) ]
Shape dough into a ball and place into a bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 20 min.
Punch the air out of the dough and shape into whatever shape you'd like. I typically cut the dough in half and make two loaves. Keep in mind that the dough has yet to fully rise.
Place the loaves on a baking tray lined with parchment and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for an hour. [Tip: heat the oven to a low temperature, roughly 50Ā°c, turn the heat off, and allow the loaves to rise there!]
Bake the loaves for about 20-25 min at 245Ā°c. [Tip: tap the bottom of the loaves, if it sounds hollow, they're done]
Allow the loaves to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into them, and then serve!
I think this bread is great fresh with butter, as a side with soup or stew, or as toast with honey! I hope you like it! š
