No-Fail Bread Formula! – Quick! Simple and Uncomplicated
Perfection!
Various countries flours will differ in their liquid absorption rates – This formula works very well for South African flour!
This is the best formula for making bread. The rest you may add according to taste but remember that salt retards yeast development and tap water can do the same especially if too heavy in chemicals. If you find your tap water too heavy with chemicals, use 100% milk instead of half water to milk or use purified water instead.
A lovely crusty, chewy brown loaf of bread made from South African “Brown Bread Flour.” – Alongside is my famous Sweet Chili Chutney. In case you would like the recipe I have placed a link below.
Notes:
Oil or fat (Excluding butter) gives the bread, it’s lovely crusty texture on the outside, keeping it fresh for longer. I make sure I knead my dough very well and always give just one rise. I always find my first rise is my best! If you follow this rule – make sure you give your dough a thorough kneading as mentioned above. The softer the dough, the faster it will rise, the quicker and easier it will be for the yeast to do its work.
Here is my No-Fail bread formula by weight in grams:
Both recipes given are based on the same formula. One is larger whilst the other is smaller.
Below I have given a sample that I always refer to when baking bread, buns or rolls.
If you bake your bread overnight and leave it in the pan – The following morning it will slice like a dream!
Bread formula by weight using 500 g of flour as an example.
Ingredients:
500 g (250 ml) flour = 100%
350 g (350 ml) water = 70% (Into which must be included your butter, oil and or eggs)
50 – 60 g (60 ml) oil or fat = 12% (Included in water mixture keeps the bread moist – optional)
16 g salt = 2 – 3.4% is the maximum
2.4% – 3% (12-15 g) instant yeast – 13 -14 g for a quicker high rise loaf
15 g (15 ml) sugar = 3% (optional) for sweeter bread
Sample Recipe:
This makes a lovely fluffy high-rise white loaf of bread. It’s a very soft dough which makes it easier for the yeast to do its work.
Tip for sweetening flour is to beat boiling water into it with your dough hooks or you may use a strong wooden spoon to do this.
I place my pan onto the scale and weigh into it in the order given, my salt, sugar, liquid, and oil. I then weigh in my unsifted flour. Make a little indentation in the middle with my finger and into this I weigh my instant yeast. Close the pan and set it on a dough cycle.
Allow dough to cool down to body temperature before adding your yeast. However, this step is not necessary if using a bread machine, as you just add your ingredients in the below bread machine, in the given order: Salt, sugar, water, oil, followed by adding the unsifted flour, making an indentation in the center flour and then emptying the yeast into the indentation.
Set your machine on a dough cycle. Allow dough to rise until doubled in bulk and once it is fully risen, set it on a bake cycle for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean and bread has pulled away slightly from the walls of the pan if you test it with your finger.
Ingredients:
430 g white bread flour
301 g water / homemade liquid whey from yogurt or half milk to water
7.5 ml of salt
7.5 ml sugar
15 ml Sunflower /canola / olive oil
10 g Active dry yeast
I knead my bread dough twice in the bread machine. Allow it to rise to double its volume and then before going to bed, I set it on a bake cycle. Upon the following morning when you open the bread machine you will find once removed, it will slice perfectly like a dream!
You may remove the dough hooks from your machine once it has completed kneading your dough. However, here I just left them in.
For the Sweet Chili Chutney click here!
Enjoy!