Simple white bread

Published on by cafegarima

A simple no-fuss white bread loaf

Joy! Ahoy!! My quest for a perfect loaf of white bread has finally ended!
Had been hunting around for days and trying a lot of recipes but no success. Too dense, too yeasty, just not right- till today! A big shout of thanks to my dear friend Kalpana Vinay for these measures. They worked so well! This is a total no-fuss bread with easy to remember measures. Straight to the recipe now, without any fuss! 😀

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Ingredients

All purpose flour/Maida 3 cups
Instant Yeast- 1 Tsp/Fresh Yeast 10 grams ( Find an excellent yeast converter here, in case using a different variety of yeast)
Sugar- 2 Tsp
Salt- 1 Tsp
Butter – 1 ½ Tbsp
Milk- ¾ cup (may use a little more in case the dough is too hard)
Warm water- ¼ cup

  1. Prove the yeast – add the sugar to ¼ cup of warm water. Mix well. The water has to be just the right temperature- not too hot because that will kill the yeast not too cool because the yeast won’t prove. Drop some on the back of your wrist and it should feel warm there. Add the yeast and rest covered for 10-15 minutes. The yeast should froth like soapy bubbles. If it doesn’t, throw the mix and start afresh. Proper proving of the yeast is vital to good bread!
  2. In a big bowl, take the flour and salt. Mix.
  3. Once the yeast has bloomed, add it to the flour and mix well with a wooden ladle. Add milk and keep mixing. Once well mixed, knead the dough well using your hands. It will be sticky to start with.
  4. Add the butter and knead for another 10-12 minutes. It will now become a non-sticky, soft and pliable dough.
  5. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with cling film, or a kitchen towel and rest for 11/2 to 2 hours. The dough should double up. The time actually depends on the weather conditions-if very hot, it doubles sooner than the 1 ½ hours. This is the first prove.
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  6. Remove from the bowl once the dough is doubled and gently knock out the air.
  7. Shape the dough into a loaf and place in the loaf tin.
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  8. Cover with cling film or a kitchen towel taking care to that they do not touch the top of the bread. This is how I do it.
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  9. Leave to rise again for about 45 minutes. This is the second prove.
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  10. When there are 20 minutes to go, pre-heat the oven at 200C.
  11. Brush the top with milk and bake for 20 minutes, till the top browns.  If doing in an oven with two elements, please keep both on. The bread should sound hollow when you tap on it.
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  12. Slice when fully cooled.

 

57 thoughts on “Simple white bread”

  2. Hey Garima lovely bread ….your family is blessed to have you 🙂
    Now I have small query that butter should be unsalted or salted would work too? And I have dry yeast with me it works the same? Prove test….please help I have never baked or used yeast but planning to make fresh loaf for my lil one

    Reply

      2. Ha ha Namrata! Do that pronto and you’ll enter a different world!
        Meanwhile, try to lure the local bakery into selling you some fresh yeast. That is pure joy to work with! 🙂

  4. Thnks Garima .I did see few options for yeast in supermarket like dry teast instant yeast but as no knowledge I picked up dry yeast , on the packet of instant yeast was written directly mix in the flour ? Is it ok or its better to prove yeast

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for stopping by Aditi. Saw a picture of your lovely spicy mango and strawberry fruit rolls on an FB page recently. They look gorgeous!!

      Reply

    1. Hi Anju
      Thanks for dropping by. Please take a look at my pav post. It has detailed explanation with pictures on yeast blooming.
      Go for Instant yeast or fresh yeast from a bakery . Happy baking 🙂

      Reply

  7. The bread looks absolutely awesome Garima. I am not a great baker but do like to try out things. I’m going to have a shot at the bread now 🙂 just v quickly, for the measurements you’ve posted how deep should my loaf tin be?
    Thanks

    Reply
  8. Pingback: Porcini Crostini or Mushroom Crostini | CaféGarima

  9. Hi Garima thx for the wonderful receipe. Had a doubt. Well this bake in microwave oven. I have a LG one. Please reply.

    Reply

  10. Hi,
    Can you please tell me if we need to prove the yeast even if we are using dry active yeast?
    Sorry if it’s a lame question but I am really new to baking
    Thanks
    Sukruthi

    Reply

    1. Hi Suruthi
      I always prove the yeast whether using active dry or Instant,just to make sure it is active. That way one doesn’t need to bother about the bread failing later.
      Happy Baking 😀

      Reply

  11. Hi,

    I have oven toster griller… Just confused which mode to use to bake perfect bread….ether toast with convention or bake mode…. Plz help as i would be trying this for first time…

    Reply

    1. Hi Harpreet
      I have an OTG too. I use the bake mode (just the bottom rod on) for about 15 minutes and then turn the top one on too for browning of the top. My oven is a small one so keeping them both on tends to burn the top.
      Hope this helps
      Happy baking 🙂

      Reply

  12. Garima hii.. I tried my hands on baking bread today thanks to you. . Followed the receipe as you have mentioned. I did bake it at 200 c for 20 min but the brown color did not come also the other end got sticky to the vessel. I did it in a glass vessel as I do not have bread tin. Please give me tips to improve next time.

    Reply

    1. Hi Vandana
      You need to grease the baking vessel so that bread does not stick.
      Did you bake in a MW? There you’ll need to use the broiling function, I bake in an OTG.
      Hope this helps 🙂

      Reply

  13. Hi I made the bread today but it did not rise as much as your pictures. I have used freash yeast and proofed it with sugar as you suggested. Any other reason it did not rise. I am gurgaon so it’s quite hot. Plus left it for longer time since I did not see it rise up. Thanks

    Reply

    1. I really don’t see why that should happen! Fresh yeast is the easiest to work with. I bake with instant and this loaf was with Gloripan instant yeast. 🙂

      Reply

      1. I don’t know too. Will try again in a few days after we finish of this bread. I have tried soo many recipes and was hoping that fresh yeast was the answer to all my prayers. I used the 1:3 ratio for fresh yeast. My bread came out in the shape of biscotti. Will try again. Thanks

  14. Hi Garima,
    Nice recipe… and very well put.. I tried it out.. My bread was baked but i had the same issue some one else mentioned earlier..It didnt brown on top. I have a microwave oven and i baked it using convection mode. I tried grilling it but was apprehensive about it being burned so i didnt keep it for long.. Result.. I had a plain dull white color bread 😦 any tips would be appreciated.. thanks a ton again.. Keep blogging!

    Reply

    1. Hi Varsha
      I do not use the MW but broiling/grilling in the the last five minutes of baking is what my friends,who use the mw,do.
      Do give it a try next time. Keep an eye. Hope you get a beautiful brown crust the next time around dear. Happy baking 😀

      Reply

  15. Tried this recipe and the bread loaf turned out perfect!!! such a result on the first ever bread baking attempt was totally unexpected!!! thanks for this recipe :))) wld be great if you could post the recipe for whole wheat bread too

    Reply

    1. Hi Megha
      Woo hoo! Congratulations!
      I already have a no knead whole wheat recipe on the blog 🙂 check that out. Will post another one soon! Happy baking 😀

      Reply

  17. Hi Garima! I have a Samsung microwave. In which mode should I bake and for how long and what should be the temperature?

    Reply

  18. I have a really REALLY dumb question. I’ve tried baking twice, but both the times my bread was uncooked in the center, even though it got a glorious brown colour throughout. What can be the cause? how do I know a hollow sound?

    Reply

    1. Hi
      You tap the bottom of the bread to get the hollow sound 🙂
      I have learnt some new techniques and tried a new recipe. Will be sharing a detailed post with all the tips soon! 😃

      Reply

  20. Hi Garima ,
    I am bit confused . How to tap a bread in bottom . When its inside hot pan inside oven ?As we need to check that time only to check doneness or can we wait till it gets down cooled ?and if its uncooked , we can resume baking again ?

    Thanks a lot !!!

    Reply

  22. Hi garima…
    Where should i start from….i love u n ur no fail receipes 😙 baking ki bimari ho gayi hai. I tried ur white brd receipe with some garlic n herbs. My whole house was smelling heaven. Waiting to cool down the bread so i can cut slices till then thought to thank u for ur lovely receipes. Keep inspiring😊☺

    Reply

  23. Hey Garima.. I Baked a loaf using your recipe.. But the bread turned out to be a little rubbery and the crust turned to be a little hard.. I don’t know where I went wrong.. Can you please help me with this??

    Reply

    1. Hi Pranshu
      I often bake with this recipe and it works well always.
      You need to knead it right and take care not to let it over proof.
      Also bake at high temp depending on your oven’s heating.
      I bake at 200 in a large 45 L oven.

      Reply

  24. Hi Garima
    It’s looks so good perfect bread👌.
    Thanks for sharing your recipe. One query as you have used instant yeast does that also require to me proofed….
    I will surely try it firmly daughters😊

    Reply

  25. Your recipe is just great! The bread was so delightfully soft and yummy. I didn’t expect it to be this good because the last two times I made bread, it didn’t come out well so I was expecting this to go the same way. I was feeling a little sad because I used to bake good breads and then I seemed to have lost my touch, but your recipe worked like a charm. Thanks a ton!

    Reply

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