Buttery bread.

(In Portuguese)


I am insisting in the bread making trials until I get the hang of it. And I consider this one to be an advance. :)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tablet (15g) of fresh yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons softened butter (or you can substitute for one tablespoon olive oil, if you prefer)

I broke the tablet of yeast with a fork, mixing it with the sugar, after what I poured in the water.

Always remember the water should feel warm-to-cold in your hands, otherwise you kill the yeast and the bread will never grow.

Well, then I added one cup of flour blending everything using a spoon. Added the salt, butter, and remaining flour. When everything comes together, the dough should be soft but not sticky.

I kneaded a little, lightly, just to make sure it was uniform. I did that over the bowl, didn't flour any surface etc.

I let it rest inside the oven (turned off), and in 1:20h it had already doubled it's volume.

I formed a ball and let it grow again, for half an hour, inside the greased and floured loaf pan.

15 minutes before putting it in the oven, preheat it to a medium-high temperature.

After it growed again, I brushed a little oil on top of the bread and sprinkled raw sesame (it will roast in the heat of the oven).

I baked it for 10 minutes in medium-high heat, and 25 minutes more in medium heat, having a baking sheet under the loaf pan with 1/2 cup of water. This is a tip from the blog where I took the original recipe which I adapted. I don't know for sure, but I think it helps making the bread softer.

The change in temperature should help the crust became crunchy, but mine didn't.

Result: a soft and consistent bread, perfect for sandwiches, with a slight butter flavor.

The only thing that didn't work was the way I tried to "glue" the sesame on the crust. I need to research that.

Next time I'll try it with some whole wheat flour and some nuts in the dough.