A humble everyday loaf for the fasting table, made from little more than flour, water, and yeast. There is a quiet patience to it, waiting on the dough to rise twice before it meets the oven.
Loaf Bread
A plain, honest sandwich loaf from five simple ingredients, with a soft crumb and a golden crust.
Servings 8
Ingredients
For the loaf
- 1/4 cup warm (not hot) water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 envelope)
- 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- Place the sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl, then pour the water over and stir to combine.
- Wait about ten minutes, until the yeast has bloomed and looks like a yeasty layer on top of the water. If nothing happens after ten minutes, the yeast is likely old, or the water was too cold or too hot.
- Once the yeast has bloomed, add the flour and stir to combine until a dough forms. This is a fairly wet dough, and a little stickiness is fine.
- Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and set it in a warm place to rise for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
- Turn the doubled dough onto a floured surface and knead until the air is knocked out and it is more compact. A bench scraper helps with this sticky dough, but hands work just fine.
- Grease and flour a loaf pan, place the kneaded dough inside, re-cover with the towel, and let it rise again for about 30 minutes, until the dough reaches the rim of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once risen, bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.