The best bread recipe in the West! This is our go to recipe when it comes to baking sandwich bread or buns
Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 cups (1080g) warm water
- 3-4 tablespoons (80g) honey
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- 1/2 cup (100g) oil- (melted beef tallow or olive oil)
-1 tablespoon (175g) active dry yeast
- 11 3/4 cups (1780g) West Country Mills All Purpose Flour
Directions:
1. In a stand mixer with the beaters attached, combine warm water, honey, oil, salt, vinegar, mix well.
2. Add 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let it stand for 10 minutes.
3. Add remaining flour starting with 1 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Once you have added about 3 cups, switch to the dough hook and reduce to adding 1/2 cup at a time and mixing well after each addition.
4. Once the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, knead for another 5-8 minutes. You may not need the entire amount of flour. Finish the last few minutes of kneading by hand incorporating 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the right consistency is achieved. Once kneading is complete, let rise in a greased bowl, covered, in a warm area for about 45 minutes. Punch down and let rise for another 20 minutes.
5. Either divide into 4 parts (or 3 depending how big you want your loaves) and form loaves and put into bread pans. Or make buns by measuring about 3 or 3.5 oz. of dough and forming into balls. Let rise for 20 more minutes.
6. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 21-23 minutes for bread or 17 minutes for buns.
7. Once removed from oven, remove bread from pans immediately to let cool on a cooling rack.
Make sure you have a warm environment when baking bread to ensure you get a good rise. I will either turn up the heat in my house, or put the oven light on to achieve a warm environment for my bread to rise. You could also turn your oven on to preheat and place your dough on the stove top so the heat from the oven keeps the dough warm.
If you want to use other flours like Khorasan, Red Fife or Whole Wheat (60% or 100%), we suggest using a small ratio of these flours alongside the All Purpose flour to achieve optimal rising. If you use 100% ancient grain flour or whole wheat flour, your bread will tend to be more dense. Some people don't mind that and like the flavor and texture of a 100% whole wheat bread. But I would suggest experimenting with different ratios of flours to achieve the crumb, consistency and flavor that satisfies you!