I only share this information on a knead to know basis.
Bread cannot be hurried so just flow with it.
When flour is made the various parts of each kernel of wheat are taken apart and then recombined in different ratios to produce different types of flour.
Bread is very forgiving. You can substitute ingredients as much as you want as long as you keep your eye on the results and make needed adjustments downstream to repair the change.
All purpose flour is just that. It can be used to make anything except bread. Bread flour was designed to be paired with yeast and its high protein content produces more gluten (the stretchy stuff that gives bread its flexible texture). In a pinch you can add extra gluten to AP flour and still get satisfactory results.
Any kind of fat can be used depending on the texture and flavor you want. Old time cooks would keep a drippings can near the stove which they would use to drain the fat off of whatever they cooked. The can never overflowed because if they needed fat for something else they would just dip into the can. It adds a nice meaty flavor to what you are making. For safe reliable results use a solid fat like lard or shortening. Butter or oils can be used but will require an easy adjustment to the liquid you add.
Sugar feeds the yeast and can be any kind depending on the flavor you want.
Remove the sugar and fat and you have French bread.
Yeast feeds on sugar so you get a faster bloom it you bloom the yeast with sugar. Salt kills yeast so keep it away from the yeast bloom. Add the salt with the flour and you will be okay. Any kind of yeast may be used. Some blooms faster than others so be patient.
Water or milk? The fat in whole milk gives a smoother texture of bread. The temperature should be 110 – 120 degrees F. Hotter kills the yeast, colder immobilizes the yeast.
The flour to water ratio depends on the day. Temperature and humidity both affect the ratio. Take your best guess and then start kneading. Add extra flour one tablespoon at a time and extra water one teaspoon at a time. By hand you should knead the bread for 20 minutes. An electric mixer will speed that up. You are looking for a smooth, stretchy, silky batch of dough. If it is dry and crumbly add water. If it is sticky add flour.
Dinner rolls should be sticky and stick to your hands. Bread should not stick to your hands. Dinner rolls are like pie crust and should not be handled much. Bread needs gluten so beat it to death.
When combining different types of flour know that whole wheat is crumbly and low on gluten but adding some white flour will cure that. In days of yore I would just add lecithin to take care of it. The stuff came in a bottle and had the texture of motor oil.
Basic white bread – one loaf
None of these measurements are exact.
240 g warm milk (1 Cup) 1 T instant dry yeast
2 T sugar 1 t salt
4 T shortening 400 g AP flour (abt 1-12 C)
As long as you let the yeast bloom the order of the other ingredients does not matter. Cover dough to keep the flies out, and let rise until double in size in a warm place. If a dry crust forms on top, no matter, just knead it back in.
Form dough into loaf, let rise until double (It will rise faster this time) bake at 350⁰ until brown on all six sides. 30 – 40 minutes.
Variation – Savory Roll
Cut 2 green onions into 1 inch lengths.
Put them into pan with 2.5 T olive oil and 1 t salt
Cook 5 min. Set aside to cool
Add to bread dough along with 2-1/2 T Oregano
After dough raises form dough into balls. Let rise until double. Flatten balls and cut a slit across the top. Fill slit with grated cheddar cheese. Paint the top with milk and sprinkle poppy seed on it. Let rise for 10 minutes and bake.
Notice the dough was a wee bit dry so it did
not make a smooth ball.
That savory variation looks really good!
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