My first bread ever!

I wanted to bake a bread but I've got no bread maker. I found a simple recipe in the cookbook that I bought about 17 years back. It doesn't require a bread maker but does require lots of effort to knead the dough.. *phew!!*


This is how it looked like. I'm not a pro and not even an amatuer. The taste came out just okay. As long as it is edible looks like a bread, who cares huh! Hehehee...

The recipe..

Ingredients:

2 cups of warm water (I used 3 3/4 milk and 1/4 water)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar (I used 4 tablespoon - saja suka2)
5 1/2 - 6 cups of all purpose flour (I used only 5 cups)
2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Pour the water into the bowl. Add the yeast. Put in the sugar and whisk until the sugar and yeast are dissolved. Measure 2 cups of the flour into the bowl. Whisk the mixture well. Let it 'proof' or sit for 10 minutes. Then, stir in the salt. Add in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop. To knead, fold the dough in half and push it down and away with the heel of your hand, rotate the dough, and repeat until it is smooth and elastic (Kneading can take up to 10 minutes).

Place the dough in a bowl greased with vegetable oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a draft-free area (I don't know what this means actually) for 1-2 hours or until it has double it size. Punch the dough down and knead it again and shape it according to your preferences. Cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F (Celcius?). Brush the dough with egg wash (if you like it). Bake for 25 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool and wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic until ready to eat.



Note to myself:

I have a get together tonight (makan-makan, of course) at my friend's house. Am I bringing the bread there? Nope!! Abang said, "macam bantat aje..". Takde encouragement langsung huhuuu...