A simple recipe for homemade bread, just like our mothers and grandmothers used to make.
Ingredients:
Sift the flour twice before using, this way you eliminate any foreign bodies, but also aerate it.
Put it in a basin, knead it, what you have, now mix the dry yeast and sugar.
If you use fresh yeast, prepare the leaven separately: add the fresh yeast (25 g) and mix well with the sugar, until it becomes like sour cream.
Add 50 ml of water and 1 tablespoon of flour, mix well and let it rise for 10-15 minutes. When it has doubled in volume, pour it over the flour.
The best homemade bread
Add warm water and salt and mix until all the water is incorporated. If needed, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of water or flour, depending on how much the dough requires. The flour can be wetter or drier, so the dough will require more water or flour. When the oil is added, while kneading, the dough hardens.
Kneading homemade bread
Start kneading, oil your hands and the bowl and knead, bringing the dough from the edge to the inside.
In this way, the dough incorporates air and will rise very nicely.
After 5 minutes of kneading, start punching the dough.
Yes, you read that right: punch the dough. Put the bowl down and let the dough fall into the bowl. In the bowl, not next to it, right?
Repeat 10 times. This punching is to evenly distribute the air in the dough.
When you resume kneading, you will see that the dough is much smoother, more elastic and comes off your hand.
If it sticks to your hand now, add another tablespoon of flour to the bottom of the bowl and knead for another 5 minutes.
Punch the dough 10 more times. Then, knead for another 2-3 minutes, shape the dough nicely and leave it to rise. 🙂
All this pounding, although it seems difficult or strange, actually helps the dough enormously, reduces the kneading time and ensures such fluffy leavening that everyone will praise you.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then with a clean napkin and leave it to rise. The wrap will help it rise much faster.
