A Well Made Loaf

A well baked loaf of bread  is a real treat. There's this lightly buttery crust wrapped around yeasty sweet goodness.Unfortuntely there are few bakeries that make such loafs and forget going to your local supermarket. What most have are those bags of cottony loaves that are better off  feeding ducks at the local pond. If you want a heavenly slice- then you're going to have to bake it yourself.

Melissa Clark discovered this as she researched the subject for her A Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Food section.white bread is surprisingly easy to make, perfect for novice home bakers.The ingredients are simple, as they have been for centuries. Butter and milk are needed to insure a soft center. Sugar is required for creating a nicely browned crust .Always use white flour. This has the highest gluten content which is needed for rising. You can use a high protein flour for more of a chew,Ms Clark suggests but she also warns about using low protein pastry flour - this will not make the dough rise enough - or adding whole wheat flour to a white bread recipe. The whole wheat's strong earthiness will mask the original sweetness. Ms CLark also includes a raisin swirl recipe which has a tantalizing mix of  dry sherry ,  brown sugar and raisins.There are other recommendations using a blend of chopped nuts or even dulce de leche. With a swirled bread,it's best to use a thick jam.A runny one will ruin the dough and leave the whole loaf soggy.


.One of the most worrisome problems of bread making is leaving it to rise  Novice home bakers will  fret that it won't  reach the desired height or it's not good enough. The solution to this is to keep the dough in a warm room. Ms.Clark  does this by warming up her oven for fifteen minutes. The dough is then put on top of the stove top She has also used her down quilt to help, but in this weather, really not that necessary. A slow rise is OK too,Busy bakers can also let their dough rise overnight in the fridge. There are a lot of options once the dough has risen, It can be baked in a couple of classic loaves.The unbaked loaf can be tossed in the freezer and kept for up to three months, The dough could also be used for a swirl loaf however be wary of this.The filling has to be more jam like than syrupy other wise the bread will separate from the filling and create cracks.This can screw up the slicing, as slices will split into pieces.Another idea not listed is adding a cup of raisins to the dough for an even sprinkling of fruit.

Nothing beats a homemade loaf of bread.It's just pure heaven to bite into a warm chewy slice. Get baking to experience this fresh baked nirvana,