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.