Batch Bread

 Ingredients: - 500 g of white flour 000, freshly sifted (the book specifies '4 cups of white flour but not very full' - I used 500 g of flour, to which a little extra flour was added for dusting the work surface) - 9 g of finely ground sea salt - 8.4 g of dry yeast or the equivalent in fresh yeast (30 g of fresh yeast) - 75 g of butter (at room temperature, soft but not melted, cut into pieces) - 100 g of superfine sugar (I used 50 g of freshly sifted powdered sugar) - 295 ml of water (1 and 1/4 cups of water)

All the necessary ingredients to create a delicious bread are placed in a large bowl: freshly sifted flour, salt, yeast, butter, sugar, and water. It is essential that the yeast does not come into contact with the salt until we start mixing the ingredients, as salt can inhibit the activity of the yeast. Personally, I prefer to arrange the ingredients in a specific order: I start with the flour, then place the butter in the center, the salt to the left of the butter, alongside the sugar, and the dry yeast to the right of it. The water will be added at the end, bringing all the ingredients together.

After placing the ingredients in the bowl, I begin to mix them with my hands. It is important to ensure that all the flour is well incorporated, forming a "slightly rough" dough. This process usually takes about 2 minutes. Once I have achieved a uniform texture, I transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and begin to knead it with my hands for 5 minutes. I must be careful not to over-knead or over-flour, as both can negatively affect the quality of the dough. In the end, I form a ball of dough and cover it with a bowl, letting it rest for an hour. During this time, the dough will begin to rise, becoming airier and fluffier.

Meanwhile, I prepare the baking tray by lining it with parchment paper or non-stick foil. I prefer the foil as it helps achieve a crispy crust. Once the dough has risen, I place it back on the lightly floured work surface. I start shaping the dough, turning it into a sphere with a diameter of about 20 cm. It is necessary to knead the dough a little to shape it correctly into the desired form.

After achieving the desired shape, I place the dough in the prepared tray. On the surface, I sprinkle a little flour, then cover the dough again with a bowl and let it rise for 1-2 hours. During this time, the oven preheats to 200 degrees Celsius, preparing the ground for baking our delicious bread. Although this step is not mentioned in the recipe, I choose to lightly score the surface of the bread with a sharp knife. This action not only helps the bread rise evenly during baking but also adds a rustic look.

The bread is baked for 15-20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, and I have chosen to bake it for 20 minutes to achieve a perfect crust. After the baking time is up, I take the bread out of the oven and let it cool on a rack. This cooling is essential to maintain the fluffy texture of the bread and allow the flavors to settle. Thus, I enjoy fresh bread with a crispy crust and a fluffy crumb, perfect to be savored alongside a slice of cheese or butter.

 Tags:  unt flour sugar vegetarian recipes