A slice of fresh bread is often used as an accompaniment to certain dishes, but you don't always have time to wait hours for the bread to rise. This quick recipe won't disappoint when you need warm bread that's just baked in under an hour. Crispy and fragrant bread is the perfect complement to any dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups very warm water (not boiling water)
- 4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 5 cups wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Step
Part 1 of 3: Making the Dough
Step 1. Pour the water into the bowl
It is important to use warm water, but do not use water that is too hot. Hot water can kill the yeast, while warm water will wake it up without killing it – that way the yeast will help the bread rise.
Step 2. Add yeast and sugar
Use a spoon to stir all the ingredients. The yeast will begin to react to the sugar, and the mixture will become bubbly and foamy. This will happen in just a few minutes.
- If 3 minutes have passed and there is no reaction in the dough mixture, it is likely that the yeast you are using has gone bad, and you will need to use another yeast.
- You can also try again using slightly warmer or colder water, depending on the temperature you originally wanted to try.
Step 3. Pour the flour into a large bowl
Five cups of flour will make two loaves of bread. You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour. Bread flour will make a taller loaf, but all-purpose flour can also make good bread.
Step 4. Add the oil, salt and yeast mixture
Pour together into a bowl filled with flour.
Step 5. Mix the dough
You can choose to use a hook mixer, hand mixer or wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients together until they form a large, sticky ball.
Part 2 of 3: Developing and Kneading
Step 1. Put the ball-shaped dough into a greased bowl
You can wash the bowl used previously for the mixture and grease it, or use a different bowl to grease. The bowl is at least twice the size of the dough ball so that the dough has room to rise.
Step 2. Cover the dough and place it in a warm place
Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap – it doesn't need to be airtight – or place a clean cloth over a bowl. Place it in a warm area of your kitchen. If your kitchen tends to be windy, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and put a bowl in it. This will be the right temperature for the dough to rise.
Step 3. Let the dough rise for 25 minutes
During this time, the dough will start to rise. The dough won't be exactly twice as big, but it will rise enough to give the dough a good texture.
Step 4. Beat and knead the dough
If you have a stand mixer, use a hook-shaped mixer and knead the dough until it becomes limp – about 5 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. Remove the dough and place it on a floured surface and use the heels of your hands to knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes limp.
- The dough is said to have gone limp when it doesn't come back into a ball when you stop kneading. The dough should be flexible and easy to shape.
- The dough will also start to look shiny and elastic.
Part 3 of 3: Splitting and Baking
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
Step 2. Divide the dough
Roll or press the dough into a circle, like a pizza crust. Use a knife to cut the dough in half.
Step 3. Roll out the dough
Place a piece of dough in front of you so that one corner is pointing towards you. Grasp the ends and roll the dough away from your body, as if you were making a jelly roll. Roll until you form a loaf. Repeat the same for the other dough.
If you don't want the bread to be rolled up, you can divide and shape the dough into any shape you want. Make traditional bread, dinner rolls, pizza crusts, or any other shape you want
Step 4. Make a slit at the top of the dough
Use a knife to make a few slits in the top of the dough. This will help the bread to bake evenly.
Step 5. Place the unbaked bread on the baking sheet
You can also use a cookie sheet, or a special bread pan.
Step 6. Bake the bread for 30 minutes
The bread is done when the top looks golden brown. Serve bread with butter and jam or as an accompaniment to soups and stews.
Step 7. Done
Tips
- Eat bread within two or three days; remember, this bread does not use preservatives which can make it last up to a week.
- Adjust the materials used; use 2 cups self-raising flour (flour that contains developer), 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and 2-3 tsp flax seed +1 beer for healthy bread.
