Rachael’s Soft White Bread Loaf
Homemade bread is one of the simplest ways to make the kitchen feel warm and alive. I have developed this process with a lot of trial and error (and many critiques from my husband on the shape, crumb, crust and aesthetics) until I achieved a reliably predictable yet practical everyday white loaf with a golden crust, soft centre and lovely homemade feel. I like that its easy to set a timer on the machine and have dough ready to go to slot baking bread into my routine a few days a week.
Before you start a loaf, the best investments you can make include;
- A breadmaker capable of making dough – any will do, though I have a Breville Custom Loaf Pro machine as I also enjoy its other functions.
- A bag of good quality white crust Bread mix (not plain white flour) – I use Laucke brand here in Australia though internationally you should check what options are available at your local market.
- A high quality bread tin – I use USA Pan brand tins for baking as the aluminised steel I have found as critical to obtaining a crusty, crunchy exterior to the bread when baking. I have previously tried cheaper tins and it did not hold the heat well enough to form a good crust.
Rachael’s Bread Machine Dough Loaf
12
servings15
minutes30
minutes299
kcalRachael’s Soft White Bread Loaf uses a bread machine for the dough, then bakes in a loaf tin with steam for a golden sesame crunch crust.
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Ingredients
400 ml 13 1/2 fl oz water
4 cups 4 cup crusty white bread mix
2 teaspoons 2 tsp instant yeast
Plain flour, for flouring board/rolling
1 1 egg, lightly beaten
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling
Equipment
Measuring SpoonsAccurate spoon measures help keep small ingredients consistent.
Directions
- Place the water, crusty white bread mix and yeast into the bread machine pan in the order recommended by your machine. Select the dough program and allow the machine to mix, knead and rise the dough. This takes about 1½ hours on Rachael’s machine.
- When the dough is ready, tip it out onto a lightly floured board. Gently roll or shape the dough to suit your loaf tin. Place the shaped dough into the loaf tin.
- Boil the kettle and pour hot water into a ceramic dish. Place the ceramic dish of hot water beside the loaf tin inside a cold oven, grill or other enclosed space so the steam can circulate around the dough. Close the door and leave the dough to proof for 35 minutes, or until risen.
- Remove the loaf tin and water dish from the proofing space. If you were using a cold oven to steam proof, cover your risen bread loaf with a damp tea towel on the bench to avoid the dough drying out while you wait for the oven to heat.
- Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Lightly beat the egg with a fork. Just prior to placing the dough in the oven, when the dough has risen, gently brush the top with egg wash using a silicone pastry brush. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. If you have an allergy to egg or sesame you could use a milk wash, poppy seeds, or leave both out completely as preferred.
- Place a freshly boiled dish of hot water on the bottom shelf of the hot oven to create steam. Place the loaf in the oven preferably on the shelf above, and bake for 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 190°C and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and cooked through.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and tip it out onto a cooling rack. Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing. It is important for the crumb of the loaf to set as it cools, though it is extremely delicious to eat warm from the oven!
Kitchen Notes
- Do not remove the hot ceramic water dish from the oven and immerse it in cold water, as the sudden temperature change may cause it to crack. Leave it in the oven with the door slightly ajar until cooled.
- After removing the loaf, wipe out the bread tin with water, dry with a towel, then place it back in the cooling oven so the residual heat dries it fully. Its important to care for your tin and to invest in a good quality one.
- Contains wheat, gluten. Egg and sesame are optional and can easily be left out of the recipe.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Total number of serves: 12
- Calories: 299kcal
- Fat: 6.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1g
- Cholesterol: 14mg
- Sodium: 484mg
- Potassium: 162mg
- Carbohydrates: 49.4g
- Fiber: 3.4g
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Protein: 12g
- Calcium: 124mg
- Iron: 5mg
- Vitamin E: 0.2mg
- Thiamin: 0.9mg
- Riboflavin: 0.5mg
- Niacin: 5.4mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.2mg
- Folate: 167mcg
- Pantothenic Acid: 0.6mg
- Phosphorus: 161mg
- Magnesium: 57mg
- Zinc: 2mg
- Selenium: 29.1mcg
- Copper: 0.5mg
- Manganese: 0.7mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a rating and tell me how it turned out in the comments.
You can always adapt this recipe and form the dough into hamburger buns, dinner rolls or even baguettes. Make sure you have the right loaf pan and the results will still be as amazing each time.
