Blog 6: Bread Baking

Recipe 

Ingredients:

⅓  teaspoon active dry yeast

⅓  teaspoon sugar

⅓ teaspoon salt

½  cups warm water not over 110°F

1 and ½  cups All-Purpose Flour

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl mix together the yeast, sugar, salt and water. Let this stand until the yeast is dissolved. Gradually add the flour to the liquid and mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead. 
2. Knead It: Fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. Press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. After each push, rotate the dough 90°. Repeat this process for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking.
3. Let It Rise: Return the dough to the bowl and turn it over once to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.
4. Shape it: Punch down the dough with your fist and briefly knead out any air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape into two Italian- or French-style loaves. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet. Let the loaves rest for 5 minutes.
5. Bake it:
6. Lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally and brush them with cold water.
7. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes, until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

I have made bread many times before at home, however, I have never attempted to make it in a dorm oven with limited supplies. I was able to get all the ingredients I needed but it was difficult finding a pan to bake the bread in and a warm place to let the dough rise. I was able to put the dough in the oven for a little bit to rise while I was cleaning up my dishes and when I removed it from the oven it had already risen quite a bit. However, when I brought it back to my dorm to continue to rise it shriveled back down and became a little tough and hard. I let it sit to try and rise for about 2 hours and then put it in the oven to bake but I only had a wide metal pan to use. I shaped the dough into a stretched out ball and baked it in the oven. When it was finished it was very hard and dense because it did not rise properly but it still tasted fine, just looked a little odd. Although I would have ideally liked my bread to turn out differently, this was overall a really fun assignment and was interesting to watch the bread rise and fall in such a short time.