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January 14, 2011

Easy White Bread Recipe =Failure :( for me....

One of my personal challenges for this year is to learn to make great bread.  I have never been successful with this! Anything that requires me to use yeast seems to turn out badly.
I found this wonderful recipe and thought "hmmmm, I can make this!"  Nope, it turned out sad...
The bread actually tasted great but I made flat bread instead of raised bread-lol.
But because the recipe tasted really great I want to share it with you, and I will go back to the drawing board to try again...
This is what great bread looks like

EASY WHITE BREAD
(Makes 4 loaves)
4 c. warm water (divided)
8 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. yeast
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tsp. salt
7-8 c. flour


Add the sugar to 1 c. warm water, and then dissolve yeast in the sugar water.  Let the mix rest until it's doubled in size.
Pour oil into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast mixture, the remaining water and the salt.
Adding 2-3 cups of flour at a time mix together and knead until the dough is soft and not sticky.
(The dough is too sticky if you touch it and it sticks to your finger)
Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
Looking good so far
Set on a greased counter top, cover with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
Lightly knead each loaf for 1 minute, then form into loaves and places in greased bread pans.
Hmmm...not so beautiful but still hopeful
Allow to raise until doubled in size.
Bake at 350 degree's for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and rub the tops with softened butter. Allow to cool in the pans for 30-40 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to completely cool. Store in plastic bags.
WHAT HAPPENED?
What my bread turned out like.   This is sad...



3 comments:

B said...

I make gluten free bread ALL the time and even though it's totally different that this I get your yeast pain!!! My guess would be that 1. Your yeast has expired, or is too close to the expiration date, or 2. Your water wasn't hot enough, they all say warm water, but I have a thermometer and when I check the temp and match it up with the yeast label, to me it's not "warm" water, it's hot!!!

Keep trying, it will turn out!
Becky

Frieda Loves Bread said...

When I saw the title of your post, I was sad! I love bread and admire your courage in posting this!

If your yeast foamed and got bubbly in the warm water, your yeast was fine. Did you use Active Dry yeast or Instant yeast (SAF)?

It also looks like you have the right amount of dough for each of your pans. The dough should double, with the top of the bread dough reaching at least 1/2" above the rim of the pan.

I wouldn't let bread cool in the pan ~ it gets sweaty and soggy, losing a crispy crust. I would turn it out right away and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting.

The recipe looks fine. It takes practice in getting the "feel" of the dough. Don't give up! Instead, use half this recipe and make 2 loaves instead. Good luck!

Here's how I shape my bread:

http://www.friedalovesbread.com/2008/10/multi-grain-bread-photos-included.html

Pam said...

Homemade bread is a mystery sometimes. That's quite a lot of sugar and sometimes sugar hinders the yeast proofing. So glad to find your blog and I will be wandering around now.