Friday 11 October 2013

easy does it



Bread making used to be a tedious task when I first started making homemade bread by hand. Kneading bread dough can be very therapeutic, but too often I ended up with very sore arms and shoulder the next day.

Baking bread at home became much easier after I bought my first bread machine. I left the kneading entirely to the machine, no more aching! The machine was so heavily utilised that it went kaput after two years. It was back to kneading dough by hand for a long period before I got another bread maker.



Life couldn't get any simpler when I received my latest kitchen helper, a Bosch kitchen machine. With this new machine, the dough takes a much shorter time to knead as compared to my bread maker.

This wholemeal honey and yoghurt bread loaf was made using the straight dough method, simple and straight forward without having to proof the dough overnight or to prepare any tangzhong or water roux. The recipe is a combination of a few bread recipes...by substituting or replacing ingredients to suit my aim of making a loaf of homemade loaf bread so simple and easy that anyone can give it a go. Shaping was relatively fuss-free too,  just roll out the whole piece of dough and then roll it up to form a log, no special skills or technique involved.



The bread turned out to be very soft, light and airy. Besides kneading the dough to the right stage, I believe both the honey and yoghurt contributes to the tender texture as well. The bread remained soft even on the 3rd day!

There is no doubt that bread making takes time, yet it is not time consuming. Yes, it takes time for the dough to rise and proof, but the actual process of preparing the dough should not take more than half an hour of your time. Easy does it. Go slow and steady, coupled with a little patience and you will be rewarded with a loaf of freshly baked healthy homemade bread, way superior than any commercial store bought ones ;)



Wholemeal Honey and Yoghurt Bread














Ingredients:
(makes one loaf using a 7.5"x4"x4" loaf pan)

270g bread flour
30g wholemeal flour
40g caster sugar
2g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
4g (1 teaspoon) instant yeast
70g non fat plain natural yoghurt, room temperature
30g honey
120g fresh milk, room temperature
20g unsalted butter

some rolled oats

Method:

(Note: The bread dough is made with Bosch MUM5PRO HomeProfessional Kitchen Machine MUM57830, read my review here.)

Place bread flour, wholemeal four, caster sugar, salt, instant yeast, yoghurt, honey and milk (except the butter) into the mixing bowl. Attach the kneading hook and set the MUM 5 to speed 1 to mix the ingredients for about 1 minute. Turn to speed 3 and let the machine knead for about 5 minutes.

Add in the butter and continue to knead at speed 3 for another 18~20 minutes. To test whether the dough is ready, pull and stretch a portion of the dough. It should be elastic, and can be stretched into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.

Remove dough from mixing bowl. Dust hand with some flour and shape the dough into a smooth round. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover the bowl with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degrees C) for about 1 hour, or until double in bulk.

Remove dough from the bowl. Dust work surface with some flour and give the dough a few light kneading to press out the gas. Smooth into round, cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave it to rest for about 10mins.

Flatten the dough into a disc and roll out into a rectangular shape about 7" by 12". Roll up the dough along the shorter end like a swiss roll to form a log (with a length of about 7" or the length of the loaf pan you are using). Pinch and seal the seams tightly. Place dough seam side down in a well greased loaf pan. Cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 40mins to 1 hour, or until double in size. Brush the top with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 degrees C for 30 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown. Remove from oven, unmold and transfer to rack to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container and best consumed within 2 to 3 days.

17 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

That's a perfect loaf, from the crumb to crust!

Victoria bakes said...

Love this simple and healthy loaf.... Great for sandwiches

Anonymous said...

Hi, can I make this without the wholemeal flour? Should I substitute with the same amount (30g) of bread flour? And do you need to scald the fresh milk prior to using? Thank you.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, yes, you can replace the wholemeal flour with the same amount of bread flour.

Anonymous said...

I also love making bread. I use my KA mixer to knead the dough for 10-15 minutes before I complete the kneading process by hand. More efficient and keeps my countertop clean from all the flour if I would knead by hand all the way, Simply lover the smell of freshly baked bread too!

Unknown said...

You are right honey and yoghurt contributes to the tender texture. Its a flavoured and yummy home baked. I am fan of such a best food recipes and surely give it a try.

Mrs Sze said...

This is the best loaf bread recipe I have tried so far on a breadmaker. The loaf stays soft even on the 3rd day. Thanks so much for sharing! I love to read your blog.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Mrs Sze, thanks for sharing your experience :)
I am so glad that this recipe works well for a bread machine!

cantigal said...

Hi hi if I wish to replace the flour proportion to half bread flour and half wholemeal flour, do I need to make any adjustment to milk or yogurt or honey to increase the liquid?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, you will need to adjust the liquid amount, however, I am not able to advise as I have not tried it.

Anonymous said...

Hi, can I handknead this dough cz I don't have a bread machine. Thanks! Yvonne

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Yvonne, yes you can knead the dough by hand.

Unknown said...

Hi hi happy homebaker

Your recipes never cease to amaze me and my family. We all love it. They are so nice and tasty. :) I have a small question tho. I did this recipe and after it was baked, 2/3 of the loaf has a big hole. Is it because I over proof it? The first proofing I took 1.5 hr because I thought it was not double in size. Other than that, I followed your recipe. :p what is your opinion? Thanks in advance.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Christine, I suspect the hole is likely due to the shaping of the dough(roll into a log shape) after the 1st proof.

Unknown said...

Hi Happy Homebaker

Thank you so much for your reply despite of your busy schedule. Thank you for your advice too. I will take note of the bread shaping the next time when I bake it because my hubby love it. :)

Unknown said...

Hi just like to check yr bread seem to be whiter than mine not sure ups the whole meal flour I used? What kind of loaf pan you use? As I'm lusing those black non-stick pan the top seem to be a little Ben!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Christina, the colour from the photo could differ from the actual colour of the bread. The colour of the bread will depend on the type of flour used.

I used either the black non stick pan or pullman pan. The top could be due to shaping of the dough, one end could be bigger/thicker than the other end.