Cheap White Bread

Ingredients

• 63 g butter or oil (7.00%)
• 27 g milk powder (3.00%)
• 900 g flour (100%)
• 36 g sugar (4.00%)
• 18 g salt (2.00%)
• 6 g instant yeast (0.67%)
• 4.5 g diastatic malt powder (0.50%)
• 4 g soy lecithin (0.44%)
• 0.06 g ascorbic acid (0.007% - essentially vitamin C)
• 585 g warm water (65.0%)

Method

1. 1

   Get your naughty scales out! Start by making a homemade bread improver. Mix all dry ingredients together: flour, ascorbic acid (just a pinch - helps gluten get stronger for more volume and rise), malt powder (turns starches into sugars for more flavor in less time), soy lecithin (holds moisture so bread doesn't go stale as fast), milk powder (adds flavor and holds moisture), sugar (feeds yeast and keeps crumb tender), and salt.

2. 2

   In a separate bowl, beat the oil and yeast (one sachet should do) into the warm water. Stir your wet mix well.

3. 3

   Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then knead using a dough hook attachment on your trusty KitchenAid for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. Don't skimp here - you need to develop that gluten!

4. 4

   Work the dough into a nice semi-tight ball (this helps with shape later). Pop it into a well-oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for around 2 hours until doubled in size. Lightly oil a large pullman-style loaf tin while you wait.

5. 5

   Turn the dough out onto a generously floured clean work surface, top-side down. Stretch it out to form a rough rectangle around the same length as your loaf tin, knocking air out as you go. Create tension by folding and pushing: fold, push, fold, push, fold, push - should look a bit like a ciabatta at this point.

6. 6

   Roll the rectangle up tightly to form a large sausage. Pop the dough into the loaf tin seam-side down, cover with the lid, and leave to prove for another hour until the dough puffs up to around 2cm below the loaf tin lid. Preheat oven to 190°C while you wait.

7. 7

   Bake the bread for 40 minutes, remove the lid, then bake for another 10 minutes until deep golden brown. If you have a thermometer, look for an internal temperature of around 95°C.

8. 8

   Leave the bread in the tin to cool for around 7 minutes (don't skip this - helps with structure), then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

9. 9

   Store in an airtight container or bag.