Julia Child’s White Bread
You Will Need:
2.5 cups water (between 105 – 115 F)
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
You Will Do:
Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy. Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy. (note to baking noobs: instead, just combine the water, yeast and sugar and then let it sit for 5 minutes, it’ll be foamy and creamy without stirring – see below).
Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3.5 cups of flour into the mixer with the dough hook attached. Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour. Increase the speed and scrape down the sides til the dough comes together (if it doesn’t come together, add a Tbsp of flour at a time until it does). Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes til dough is smooth and elastic.
Add butter 1 Tbsp at a time (don’t be alarmed if your dough comes apart! Mixing will put it back together)
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl. Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic or with a dishtowel for 45 minutes to an hour, til it has doubled in size at room temperature. Meanwhile, butter 2 loaf pans.
After dough has risen, deflate, cut in half and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out a 9 x 12” rectangle, and with the short end facing you fold the dough into thirs, like a letter prepped for an envelope, creating a roll. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough that it will fit in the loaf pan. (I tucked mine under, personally) Place into the pan seam-side down, recover and allow to rise a second time in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 375 F, making sure oven rack is in the center of the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until they’re honey brown. Immediately turn out of pans to cool on a rack.
First, let me just say that while I thought this was a good recipe to start with, in hindsight I’m not sure it was. I’m not sure if it was the reinterpretation of the instructions (it’s a dupe on Recipezaar) or what, but I could not get that yeast to foam with all the stirring in the world. So in frustration I went to research yeast and when I came back to it, it had foamed. So apparently the secret is not in stirring but in being patient.
Second, I cut my recipe in half because I felt like 7 cups of flour was insane and I didn’t think I needed two loaves. I’m not sure I did it right, because while the bread tasted just fine it was very dense and heavy for a loaf of white bread – I’m used to a softer, airier variety and have since found a recipe that more closely echoes my expectations.
Third, I really believe the preparation here is overly complicated. You don’t need to roll it out, it just needs to be pressed down lightly and shaped into a loaf. You have to go really light with the flour while you’re forming your loaf else your seams won’t pinch. You don’t need a heavy coat of fat in the bowl, just enough to lightly cover the dough and prevent it from sticking post-rise. In fact, I would say a wash of butter or milk on top right before you chuck it in the oven would give the same effect – fat browns, and that’s what gives your bread that golden brown crust.
That said, I totally lost my bread-making virginity on this recipe and all the frustration was ultimately worthwhile. I have made two other recipes since this one and refuse to be intimidated by bread flour again.
