Ina Garten
says she doesn’t usually spend time making bread, but that this is her
foolproof recipe for the “good white bread” that she calls for in many of her
recipes. It is nice egg bread that had
a very even grain. Like many egg breads,
it gets dry quickly, and she and I both recommend freezing the second loaf to
use later. I like to use egg bread for
French toast; if you do, slice the bread ¾” to 1” thick.
I altered the method to use instant or “bread”
yeast, and added the weights of ingredients for you. Check out our mixer bread information HERE. Remember, you can also make this recipe by hand too, the way I did for years. I used 4 ½ x 8 ½” Calphalon bread pans; they are
a good size for a 3 cups of flour loaf.
The egg white wash gives a nice, crisp, but not chewy crust.
½
Cup Water
1 ½ Cups Whole Milk
6
Cups Flour, All-purpose -- 1# 11
ounces
4
Teaspoons Instant Yeast
1
Teaspoon Sugar
6
Tablespoons Butter -- 3/4 stick
(3 ounces)
1 ½
Tablespoons Honey
2
Extra Large Egg -- Yolks
1 Tablespoon Salt
1
Extra Large Egg White -- lightly
beaten
Heat water
and milk to 120-125°.
Place flour
except 1 cup in mixer bowl. Add yeast,
sugar, salt, softened butter, honey and egg yolks. Add
liquids and beat 5 minutes with paddle attachment. Add
remaining flour until dough doesn't stick to bowl. Change to dough hook and knead on speed 2 for 8 minutes, adding flour
if necessary.
Let rest 10
minutes. Shape into 2 loaves, (about 1#
9 ¼ ounces each), place in greased 9 x 5" loaf pans.
Let rise
until 1" above pan (or doubled), about 25 minutes.
Preheat oven
to 350° while loaves are rising. When
the dough is ready, brush the tops with egg white and bake the breads for 40-45
minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped.
Turn them out of the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before
slicing.
2012
Cost: $2.38 or $1.1.19 per loaf
"Barefoot Contessa At Home"
Yield: "2 Loaves"
Per Serving:
120 Calories; 3g Fat (23.3% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate;
1g Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 234mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0
Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
hi sue,
ReplyDeletethat bread looks good.a slice fresh bread with butter and strawberry jam,that's all what i need to my breakfast.like the wooden-dishes(holzbrett)
with the german words.
have a wonderful time,
love and hugs regina
Hi Regina,
DeleteYes - we like the German bread board that says "give us this day our daily bread"
It was my Grandmother's and the bread knife is still the sharpest I have!
I am new to bread making for a year now and I have been trying to master Ina Gartens Honey white bread. I like the flavor of eggs and butter in my bread so your verson intreaged me so when you say to put all ingredients in bowl and beat for 5 min do you mean with the paddel? Or the dough hook? Then do you switch to the dough hook? Does this produce a soft crjumb? Thank You for your quicker verson looking forward to trying it
ReplyDeleteYes, beating for 5 minutes is with the paddle attachment, then change to the dough hook to knead. Good questions!
DeleteYes, this has a soft crumb for homemade bread. If you are expecting "Wonder" bread, then very few homemade breads are that fluffy. Be sure to use "instant" or bread machine yeast for this quicker version. If you use active dry yeast, not instant, the rising times are longer.
Thank you so much for your quick response, to my question As I reread your receipe I must of over looked that you had that information in your receipe, but I have one more question, in Ina Gartens receipe she calls for melted butter and you have softened just room temp or over nite soft? I am trying so hard to master bread making and I have a problem with my results such as rising is it doubled? Why I do not get a good oven spring? so your receipe sounds like it may be my answer to a more fool proof receipe I love your site I am so glad I found it , I too like a simpler life. Thank again you have many good receipes
ReplyDeleteIf your butter is pretty soft (warm room temp) it will blend in and you won't accidentally kill your yeast with butter that's too hot. You can also put it in with your liquid and heat it to the temperature you need (120-125°).
DeleteFor this recipe, the dough should crown up with the center about an inch over the top of the bread pan...then it's ready for the oven. You should be heating your oven while your bread rises in the pan. You may not get a good oven spring because your bread has already raised enough before you put it in the oven. Be sure your pan is the right size too.
Deciding how high the bread should be is tricky for even experienced bakers...too high and it will collapse; not enough and you get too much oven spring and it can be lopsided. It all tastes good, homemade bread isn't machine made...if it isn't absolutely perfect...it's "rustic". When you slice your bread and you notice the grain is heavy, you need to add 5 or ten minutes next time to that last rise. If your bread grain is starting to get "holey", you may want to cut back on your rising time next time. It pays to perfect one recipe before you start on another. Make your notes right on your recipe so you remember. I make the same 4 or 5 recipes over and over again, as I bake every week. I keep our favorites on the inside of my upper cabinet door in my baking area!
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteThank You so much for all your suggestions I so appreciate all the helpful tips you have given and will work on one receipe as I have been going back and forth in hopes of getting a loàf I am pleased with and yes a heavy texture is what I get and even though it is good for toast it is to heavy for sandwiches, and have been trying so many different things I am making this more frustrating than a pleasure and your help is a God send as I kmow no one who makes there own bread so God Bless you for your time and your help, I have so many questions as is oil better than butter? What temp is rising really best at? do I need bread flour? Or is King Aurthers all purpose ok at 11.7 protein or is that not enough? These are my last questions as I know I have asked a lot but I feel you have put me on the right path and have been so kind to help! Thank You Again!
Ok...vegetable oil will give you a fluffier loaf I think...that's my experience. Go ahead and sub it for the butter. Your King Arthur flour is fine and will give a softer loaf than bread flour.
DeleteTemp for rising? Temp of the liquid...of the room???
If you want a easier loaf that I think will be more what you want and easier too...
Try this one...Master Bread Dough
You can make it into rolls, I use it for hamburger buns, it makes bread like my mother's and my husband thinks it is just like his Mom's...
I meant to add...if you haven't invested in an instant read thermometer and a digital scale you should...it takes a lot of guesswork out of your baking. You can even find them at Walmart.
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteI am going to make your bread receipe you suggested it looks soooo beautiful!! Oh my gosh! You are amazing! I wish you were my neighbor you have inspired me so, I am also new to my Kitchen aid mixer I got 2 years ago even though I am in my 60's it is so different than my hand mixer it is a 5qt Artesian and I am not sure what med is? Maybe 4? And beating 10? In your bread receipe, I was wondering if this muxer is good for breads or if the next size up is better you are so very talented and knowledgable! I want to make this bread this weekend. I also am new to instant yeast but is sure sounds like a time saver! when you say on second rise to give it a few minutes more if dense and if holey a few minutes less do you mean in the bread pan? Using instant yeast? Or in the bowel using active? I will be getting a scale, but I noticed all the grams are different per cup depending what site you are on range from 120gr to 150gr so how do you know what to use ? KA says 120gr for his flour? I am also new to the computer and this is the first time I have ever conversed on the computer so I hope I am not asking to much? Or to often please let me know I am just trying to understand the process better and you have really been a big help Thank You Once Again
On your kitchenaid, beat your dough on speed 2 with the paddle attachment; then change to the dough hook and use speed 2 again. Higher speeds on heavy bread doughs aren't necessary.
DeleteYour mixer should be good for bread, I have a 5 quart Kitchen aid too, just with the bowl lift instead of the head lifting. They both have enough power for 2 or 3 loaves.
On the second rise, that is the one in the pan. After you bake your bread the first time and you slice it after it's cool, look at the grain. If it's too dense, let it rise in the bread pan a little longer next time, if the grain is too open, let it raise a little less...try 5 minutes longer or shorter at a time to see if that helps next time.
On the recipes on this site, I give the weight of the ingredients in ounces. King Arthur also will do that on their recipes on their website. You don't need to worry about grams.
For instance, this recipe calls for 6 cups of flour; if you weigh that it's 1 pound and 11 ounces on your scale. You don't have to count cups and it doesn't matter how you measure it...you just weigh it. That way you don't get too much or too little flour, a good thing when you're starting as you may not have a feel for how the dough should look, Myrna and I can tell if we need more flour from 50 years of experience, we were helping with bread when we could stand on a chair next to the bread board!
You're not asking too many questions...no need to invent the wheel if you can get help.
Let me know if you try the Fleischmann's master bread...it's a good and easy recipe, that once you get it to your liking you can branch out. I still make it pretty regularly.
Check this page for some more information: Bread tips
and here's more help: fast rise breads in your mixer