Super Soft White Farmhouse Loaf

 

This is my go to loaf for.....well nearly everything. It really is perfect, light, fluffy and delicious. I can add fruit, tomatoes, onion, seeds, honey, whatever I fancy, or just keep it a simple white loaf which is equally tasty. It's taken me a long time to get this right, so I thought I'd share it with you so you don't have to go through the same pain :) So let's get to the nitty-gritty, here's what you'll need: Patience 500g Strong white flour (known in the US as bread flour and 1.1lb for my American cousins. You could use 1lb and drop the water to around 250ml) 4 heaped teaspoons dry milk powder (I use Tesco Value skimmed milk powder) 1.5 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons baking yeast 300ml luke-warm water A bread tin is really handy too - I'm using a 2lb one. You can knead it by hand, or using a mixer with a dough hook - I'm using a kitchenaid classic as my arthritic hands aren't quite as good as they once were for kneading. Let's begin....   Step 1: Prepare the yeast Grab a mixing jug and fill with 300ml warm water (luke warm) Measure out the 2 teaspoons of yeast into a mixing jug and give it a stir. Pop a very small pinch of sugar in with the mixture and 1 last stir around. Cover with a clean tea towel or similar. While we're waiting for the yeast mixture, proceed to the next step. After around 10 minutes, the mixture should have a frothy head on it like a good beer (like pic 2). It's ready to use.   source: http://www.instructables.com