Fresh baked bread

My first attempt at making bread. It's not perfect, but I will get there. In the meanwhile, couldn't resist posting it :) The bread was soft and flavorful, but I used more yeast than was required. This resulted in the bread not rising as much as it should have. Nevertheless, it looked and tasted like a soft french loaf.

 

Flour - 3 cups
Dry yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 to 1 cup
Olive oil - 1 tsp

In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Make a well and add warm milk, sugar and yeast. Let it froth for 5 min. I used 1 tbsp dry yeast, but 1 tsp is the right amount.

When the yeast starts to froth, mix it with the flour. Gradually add the water and mix it into a soft dough. Add the oil and knead the dough, folding it in while mixing. Mix for about 10 min. The dough will be sticky. 

In another bowl, grease with oil and place the dough. Close the lid and let it raise for 1 hour. When the dough raises double, punch the dough to release the air. Knead again for a few minutes. Close and let it raise for another 30 min.

Cut the dough into 2. This will make 2 loaves. The dough keeps well for a week in the refrigerator.  Bake together, or a few days apart.

In a bread pan, grease the pan and place the dough. Spread it to fill the pan. Spray or rub some oil on top, and let it raise int he bread pan for 30 min.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and bake for about 30 min, until golden brown on top.

Tastes best with some butter or marmalade, hot out of the oven.

I made garlic bread out of the left over slices.