Homemade Bread is one thing I’d shied away from making for years. I just always thought bread was too cheap and affordable for one to waste so much time and energy baking at home but boy, was I wrong or what? Nothing beats well baked homemade bread, absolutely nothing!
Remember the Fried fish Stew recipe I posted last week? Well, my mum insisted on bread and fish stew for breakfast on Friday but I was in no mood to go to the shops, so I decided to bake one. Best decision ever! My first attempt was OK but I wasn’t satisfied with the texture of the crust so I tried again twice yesterday (Sunday) till I got a perfect texture.
First off, I love the aroma of fresh homemade bread and how it changed the smell of my kitchen and surroundings throughout the day. Homemade bread also affords you the opportunity to tailor bread to your taste and health needs. I’ve always been a sucker for Nigerian bread or Agege bread but find the store bought ones in these parts a bit too heavy and over preserved. This recipe is very close to Nigerian bread style and tastes richer and sweeter (not in an unhealthy way) than store bought bread.
Recipe ... Portuguese Sweet Bread
You can use either strong bread flour or plain flour for this recipe though strong bread flour is recommended as this gives your bread a much softer and stretchy texture and you don’t end up with too much holes in your bread. If you can’t source bread flour, then feel free to use plain flour.
First, you’ll need to proof the yeast. Do this by adding a quarter of the lukewarm water into a bowl, add half of the sugar and the entire yeast. Do ensure you use lukewarm water cos hot water will kill the yeast and cold water won’t activate the yeast. It has to be lukewarm; not hot, not cold, just in between. Whisk till smooth and set aside to rise for 5-10 minutes….
Mix 500g of the flour with salt and the remaining sugar and set aside, also mix the rest of the lukewarm water with the vegetable oil and set aside…
Sweet Coconut Bread
Work the batter until you get a stretchy and sticky dough. Don’t worry if it’s too stretchy, this only means you’ve done good and will end up with really soft bread. Your consistency should be a bit thicker than pictured below, I forgot to take a final photo…
Now pour the rest of the flour onto a clean surface, transfer the dough onto the surface and begin to work your dough. Fold in more flour into the dough until you get a smooth, non sticky but still stretchy dough, add more flour if necessary. Be careful not to over work your dough. This should take 8 minutes thereabouts…
Now, grease a big bowl with oil, make sure all areas are covered. It is important to grease the bowl to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl when it rises. Transfer the dough into the bowl. Cover with a thick towel and place in a dark place like your oven or microwave and leave the dough to rise for 1- 1.5 hours. Your oven is your best bet. If you’re in Nigeria or any hot climate region, this should take 45 minutes to an hour.
Soft Milk Bread Loaf
Gently remove the dough from the bowl and transfer unto a clean surface. Knead your dough again for 2 minutes, do not over work…
Oil a bread pan with butter, then transfer the dough into the oiled bread pan. Cover again with the thick towel and put it back in the dark place to rise a second time. This time for 45 minutes…
Take the dough out of the dark place after its risen, it should be double its size again by now. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it browns on the top. Notice how my dough rose to the top of the pan….
Sweet Bread Rolls
Transfer the bread onto a rack immediately and rub some butter on the top while it’s still hot, the butter will penetrate into the bread bread, making it more moist and yummy. This step is optional though…
Why don’t you treat the family to freshly baked Homemade Bread this holiday season, they’ll surely thank you for it and do let us know how you get on with it, will be waiting to hear from you. Please, please, subscribe to the blog for notifications of new recipes, just do you don’t miss out on them. See you soon…Sweet Milk Bread – Nothing whets the appetite like the aroma of a yeast bread baking in the oven. This white bread is soft, slightly chewy, milky and sweet.
Growing up, we lived a couple of blocks away from the bakery so we had access to fresh Bread almost every time, so when I lefthome a couple of years ago I began to crave for that sweet, soft and slightly chewy Bread that I grew up with.
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I searched different grocery stores but I did not get exactly what I wanted. The only choice I had left was to start trying out recipes. I tried out a ton of Bread recipes both online and in books, and years after (yes you read right, years!) I was able to come up with this beautiful sweet milk bread recipe after a lot of trials, fails and now, success!
You can make this Sweet white Bread with or without a mixer. However, in order to achieve a perfect result, you need to useBread Flourbecause it has a higher gluten content compared to the all-purpose Flour.Though I’ve used all-purpose flour a couple of times and it turned out good but I will favor the outcome of Bread flour over that all-purpose flour because the difference is clear.
The first thing to check is the capability of your machine. A large stand mixer will successfully handle about 7 to 8 cups of flour. However, if you have a smaller stand mixer, I will advise that you divide this recipe into two.
No Knead Bread Recipe
Another important fact is that there is a very high tendency for you to over-knead the dough while using a stand mixer. Therefore, I will advise you to start checking how the dough is doing after about five minutes from the time you started the kneading process.
To use the stand mixer, simply add all the ingredients into the mixing bowl and start mixing together using the dough hook on low speed till a mass of dough is formed. Continue to process until the dough cleans up the sides of the dough.
If all your ingredients are correctly measured, you will have no need to add more liquid. However, if there’s a need to add more flour, feel free to do that (a little at a time) until you achieve a soft and elastic but not sticky dough.
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This bread loaf can also be made with no stand mixer. You will need a clean table with a comfortable height and of course, some elbow strength! This hand kneading method should take about 10 minutes.
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, once everything is well combined, turn the dough to a lightly floured work surface and begin to knead until the dough is no longer sticky and it becomes soft, smooth and elastic.
Just like I stated for the machine method above, if you measure all your ingredients correctly, you will have no need to add more liquid. However, for the hand kneading method, you will need to add more flour – a little at a time as needed until you achieve a soft and elastic but not sticky dough.
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Please note that you need to induce steam into the Oven by pouring water in a pan and placing it on the bottom rack of the oven. This will ensure that the bread bakes well and rises to its full potential before the crust is formed. It also helps to achieve that soft crust.
This is not a quick bread method, but the wait time is well worth it, therefore, let the dough rest well. This rest period will allow the gluten to develop well. Don’t hasten or shorten the rest time and you will be rewarded with a perfectly soft and chewy sweet loaf of bread.
There are a whole lot of yeast types that you can use in bread making. However, I will be talking about the two main types that are common to the home baker.
Agege Bread (nigerian Agege Bread)
The first is the active dry yeast and the second is the instant yeast (also known as the fast rice or rapid-rise yeast). Learn the difference and similarities of active dry yeast and instant yeast here.
The active dry yeast may or may not be proofed. I know this may be a bit surprising because a lot of people think that there is a need to proof the active dry yeast. I have used the active dry yeast several times without proofing it and with great result.
On the other hand, Rapid Yeast does not require any proofing. You
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