Make homemade bread in any shape you desire.
A bread maker produces homemade bread with minimal work for you, but a loaf from a bread machine can't quite measure up to a completely homemade loaf. You can make a loaf of bread by hand in about the same amount of time it takes your bread machine to run, although the handmade loaf will require more hands-on time from you. The most basic homemade bread contains only four ingredients, but you can add and substitute ingredients to create a variety of bread recipes from one basic recipe.
Instructions
1. Measure 3 cups of flour, the salt and the yeast into the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
2. Test the water temperature against the inside of your wrist; it should feel very warm, but not uncomfortably hot. Add the water to the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture forms a sticky dough.
3. Add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a relatively smooth lump.
4. Sprinkle flour over a clean counter top or large cutting board. Dump the dough out onto the floured surface. Press down and forward into the dough with the heels of your hands, turn the dough a quarter turn, fold it in half and press with the heels of your hands again. Continue kneading for about eight to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Test by tearing off a small piece of dough and stretching it out as far as you can; if the dough becomes translucent before it tears, you are done kneading.
5. Spray a large clean bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat all sides with the nonstick spray. Cover the bowl a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise.
6. Let the dough rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it nearly doubles in size. Test the dough by poking a finger into it; if the indentation remains, the dough is done rising.
7. Punch the dough down. Form it into a fat oval a little smaller in length and width than your bread pan. Spray the bread pan with nonstick spray and place the shaped dough in the pan. Alternatively, shape a free-form loaf and place it on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Some shape options include a round boule, a long baguette or even a flat bread. Cut a series of diagonal slits into a boule or baguette.
8. Cover the loaf with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes to one hour, until it doubles in size. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes before the dough is done rising.
9. Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it. Reduce the cooking time to around 30 minutes for a baguette or 20 minutes for a flat bread. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool.
Tags: nonstick spray, with nonstick, with nonstick spray, bread machine, bread with, clean kitchen
