This is the very first recipe in Bernard Clayton's Bread Book. It's meant to be an easy loaf for the new baker who's still getting the hang of things. Much like the loaf for learning from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book.

I grabbed this recipe because I needed bread in a hurry, but didn't want to do another soda bread/quick bread. This works excellently as a basic yeast-leavened, bread-in-a-hurry sort of deal. It was also a nice way to continue experimenting with the stand mixer and dough hook. I'm still not used to working dough by machine and it's surprising more difficult to dail in than I'd expected. (Although using machine assistance allows this bread to come together even more quickly, which was definitely a big bonus given the time constraints.)

This recipe works very well as is. I added in a small amount of sourdough discard. I don't think the discard made much difference to the dough, but it was a nice way to use it up and keep my starter happy. Feel free to omit the starter; you'll probably need a bit less flour and end up with slightly less dough overall in this case. Not a problem, just something to be aware of.

First Loaf

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 700-850g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 40g (3 Tbsp.) sugar
• 13g (2 tsp.) coarse sea salt
• 1 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 1/4 c. skim milk powder
• 2 c. hot (50-55°C) water
• 100g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. Combine 280g (~2 c.) of the flour with the sugar, salt, yeast, and milk powder.
2. Add the water and beat with a wooden spoon or the flat beater of a stand mixer for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the starter and butter and mix well.
4. Add another 140g (~1 c.) of flour and beat for another 2-3 minutes.
5. If using stand mixer, switch to dough hook before continuing.
6. Keep adding flour 35g (~1/4 c.) at a time until the dough comes together and seems to reach a reasonable hydration level, neither too loose nor too tight.
7. Knead by hand for 20-30 minutes or by machine for 4-8 minutes¹.
8. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.
9. Knock back, knead a few strokes, and divide into two equal portions.
10. Round each portion, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
11. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
12. Shape each dough ball into a loaf and place, seam-side-down, into prepared pans.
13. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
15. Slash loaves as desired and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes.
16. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F), rotate loaves, and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes.
17. Turn off oven and allow loaves to sit in hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
18. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.
19. If desired, brush crust with a little butter.

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¹ I'm still dialing in the ideal machine kneading time, but this one definitely seemed closer to the mark than previous attempts. ^Back