100% APF/Maida Bread

Ever since my friend added me to a baking group on Facebook, I have been really hooked on to it. I started spending hours reading various blogs and saw innumerable videos on you tube on how to knead, proof, shape and bake breads. The first thing I did was to procure a good quality dry instant yeast. As suggested by various bread experts, I too started with fully all purpose flour (apf) breads in the beginning. I still remember the joy I felt when I baked my first loaf. Though it was far from perfect, but my family enjoyed it.

There was no turning back since then. The aroma of freshly baked bread was mesmerising. I started looking forward to baking breads. My research continued and slowly I graduated to baking a combination of apf and whole wheat flour (wwf) breads. But the softness and taste of fully 100% apf breads was something which we all loved the maximum. So, here is a fully 100% apf bread which is extremely soft, fluffy and yummy 🙂

Ingredients:

• Maida 400 gm
• Salt as required
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Milk plus lukewarm water 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) plus/minus 1 tbsp

Method:

• Dissolve the yeast in the milk water mixture along with sugar and keep aside for some time (10-15 minutes) till it is frothy.

• Mix the flour and salt well and add the frothy yeast mixture to it.
• Add the butter little by little and knead by using the pull and stretch method preferably on a clean kitchen counter.
• Knead for 12-13 minutes, till the dough is soft, smooth and elastic.  ( No short cuts please…) Do not knead too hard.
• Make sure that the dough bounce back when you poke it with your finger.
• Keep the dough in a big nicely greased bowl and cover the bowl with a clean cling film or a fresh shower cap till the dough doubles in size. (It took around 75 minutes).

• Gently punch the dough to remove air bubbles and knead it lightly for a minute or two.
• Roll it into a rectangle using a rolling pin. Roll it tightly into log ( just like how you fold your yoga mat ) and seal the seams well.

• Place the rolled dough in an oiled bread tin with the seam side down ( I use 9 x 3.5 x 3.25 inches tin) till it again doubles in size ( it took around 35 minutes). Gently smear the top of the bread with little oil or milk or soft butter.

• Bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 35-40 minutes or till the crust is golden in colour.
• Take it out and apply some more butter on top and bake for 5 minutes or so at 200 degree Celsius till you get a nice colour on the crust.
• Remove from oven, apply butter on the top liberally and allow it to cool.

• Cover the loaf loosely with a clean and wet kitchen towel for the bread loaf to cool faster.
• Wait for atleast 2-3 hours or preferably overnight before you slice the loaf. Bread making teaches you patience …
• Slice it neatly with a long serrated knife.

  Notes and observations:

• Even though you are using instant yeast, which can be added directly to the flour, it is better to bloom it first with sugar and lukewarm milk or water or a combination and allow it to be frothy before you add it to the flour and knead.
• I am not sure whether I am fully right, but reducing the amount of yeast, is not making my dough rise above the rim of my bread tin, but instead giving me a nice rise in the oven. Previously, I used to bake only after the dough reaches a little ( about an inch ) above the rim and this used to happen within 30-35 minutes. But then the bread wouldn’t rise much in the oven while baking.
• Liquid content used for kneading varies every time. So use it accordingly.
• Also it is preferable to knead the dough on a clean kitchen counter rather than on a big plate or thali. This will help to stretch and fold the dough properly.
• Do not be tempted to add more dry flour while kneading to remove the stickiness. Knead it well and automatically the dough will become non sticky. Use plastic scrapper to scrape out the dough from the counter.
• Also punch out the gases well after the first proof and make sure you roll the dough neatly and tightly. Improper shaping of the dough will lead to crack and tear in the bread while baking.
• I prefer to bake without covering the bread tin with aluminium foil. In case you feel the bread is browning too much in the first 20 minutes or so, cover the tin with an aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes.
• Just read recipes… don’t follow them blindly… go to the kitchen pick up the basic bread baking ingredients ( which by now you all know are not many), knead and bake. Believe me that’s the only way to bread baking.
• Once you are familiar with the texture of the dough, you don’t need any recipe. A little variation in the amount of yeast, sugar, oil, butter or salt doesn’t make much difference.
• To get neater slices while cutting, I make the bread lie sideways so that the crust of the bread is opposite your face and then slice them on a clean counter with a long serrated knife.
• Also do not keep the bread in the bread tin for too long after it is removed from the oven. The bottom of the bread will get soggy due to moisture retention. Transfer the bread onto a cooling rack within 3-4 minutes after taking the tin out of the oven.
• For Aluminium bread tins, it is better to line it with parchment paper, so that the loaf comes out neater. Or make sure you oil it well so that the dough doesn’t stick to the walls of the tin.
• Once the bread is fully cooled, cling wrap the bread in 2-3 layers of foil and store it in an air tight container.
• Since home made bread doesn’t include any kind of preservatives or improvers, the shelf life of these breads are very less. It tastes better when it is really fresh. It stays fresh outside only for a day or two.
• For longer shelf life, store them in the refrigerator after wrapping them in 2-3 layers of cling film.
• Please refer you tube videos and blogs on how to knead, shape, proof etc. Bread baking is relaxing and therapeutic, but it is an art and science. So be passionate about it and enjoy bread baking 🙂
• Please share your bread baking experience with me. Happy baking.