EGG BREAD

Made from White Bread Flour

Playing with Egg Bread

I make this so often Eva’s Egg Bread has become mine. Egg bread became the quick fix since I developed an allergy to something in commercial breads, perhaps a preservative. No longer a preference; it is a necessary I bake my own bread.

The first time I made it the stars aligned and the egg bread was perfect. Since then I made it so often I produced a few duds too. I used only all purpose flour, only bread flour or different mixtures of the two. Each variation of flour content and each rising time results in a different type of bread. Some I liked, some I didn’t like as much. I prefer my bread chewy, not fluffy or dense. The best texture so far is from 100% white bread flour. Yes, I come from a long line of bread eaters.

The recipe really doesn’t kid when it says “let the dough rest for 20 minutes”. The first rising can go on a bit longer, indeed the dough can more than double in volume, but you can’t mess with the second rising. Maximum 29 minutes of rising time allowed for this bread and that includes the 9 minutes my oven gets up to 500F. Any more than that and the bread will loose its elasticity and become a fluffy “Wonder”.

 Made from 50% all purpose and 50% bread flour

It is true that if a recipe works at first try, it may be due to a series of happy accidents. If you have a failure, it may not be because of the recipe. It could very well be something you did or did not do. Once the kinks are worked out and every possible thing that can go wrong does go wrong, the recipe could be perfect – that is perfect for you. But it may not be perfect for someone else. The variants will come in from handling, measuring, rising times, temperature, ovens or from different atmospheric conditions. You really have to make a recipe repeatedly before you can make it your own. A first time success could just have been a fluke.   

EGG BREAD

2 eggs

2 tsp sugar

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1/2 tsp vinegar

1-1/4 cups flour

1-1/4 cups bread flour

2 tsp instant yeast

3/4 tsp salt

white all purpose flour for handling

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, place all the ingredients.
• With the flat beater on low speed beat and fully incorporate the dough. The dough will be wet and sticky.
• Switch to a dough hook and beat the dough vigorously for 5 minutes or until the sides of the bowl is cleared. You can knead the dough by hand on a floured surface, but this is a sticky-dough and any additional flour will result in a denser loaf.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over and let it rise until it doubles in size. Time can vary.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Roll out the dough on a really well floured surface to fit your baking pan. Make sure it is all purpose white flour and not bread flour.
• Now roll up the dough, or twist it into a loaf.
• Sprinkle the top with flour. [use only white all purpose]
• Place the loaf on the prepared baking sheet. 
• Allow bread to rest for about 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free place. It will rise a bit but not considerably.
• Turn the oven to 500F. Set the timer for 9 minutes. [That is how long it takes for my oven to reach 500F]
• Place the bread in the preheated oven. Set the timer for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, reduce the oven to 400F. Set the timer for 9 more minutes.
• Remove the bread from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool before slicing.
• Egg bread slices wonderfully.
• Use the bread within 2 days and freeze part of it to retain the freshness. After 2 days, the egg bread goes stale. It will be still good for toast, French toast, croutons or breadcrumbs.

Now that's bread.