Basic White Bread
February 8, 2011
Used 400WHITE:100WHOLE:380WATER:5YEAST:10SALT. Mixed 500g flour with 365g water and 10g yeast, left to autolyse for 30 minutes. Added remaining water and salt, kneading until dough stretched thin easily - then shaped into a round and left to ferment in a covered mixing bowl for 3:45. Dough was not as sticky as usual; which I think may have been to the higher content of wholemeal flour relative to the last few loaves. More than doubled in size during bulk fermentation with lots of small bubbles on the surface of the dough. Shaped into a round after bulk fermentation and left to bench rest for 25 minutes. Dough slightly pancaked outwards during bench rest, but edges were still rounded and about 1.5cm high. Folded and shaped the dough (which was much more pliable, stretched thinner than previous doughs at this stage) into a cylinder, leaving it in a 25x17 (cm) loaf tin to prove for 2 hours. Dough looked like it nearly spilled over the tin after two hours - slashed and stuck in the oven with some boiling water for steam. Loaf cooked for 45 minutes.
Top crust was a deep brown color partially due to the flour on the surface of the loaf burning - this did not affect the taste heavily. However, the unexposed bits of dough were an unrefined-sugar gold color, with a thinner and somewhat flaky crust. The inside of the bread was evenly cooked with decent pocket structure, bubbles anywhere from 1-10mm in diameter. What makes this bread memorable is the amount of bounceback - the crumb was quite airy and refused to be compressed or smashed, maintaining its structure impressively. The taste of the added wholemeal along with the new-to-me Shipton Mill strongwhite flour made for a somewhat acidic, but very hearty taste. Would make a gorgeous sandwich or morning toast.
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