Jumbo white loaf

Jumbo white loaf

I was very excited this week to find that Big W had 50% off some kitchenware and storage containers. I have been reorganising my pantry over the last 6 months, trying to get everything into matching containers. While I was looking at the containers I came across a Decor 5 litre rectangular container that would be perfect for the jumbo loaf I make quite a lot. I also just bought myself a new set of Tupperware knives and I am keen to try out the bread knife!

So this afternoon when I got home from the school run, I made the bread dough. It's getting pretty cold in Perth, so proving the dough can get a bit tricky. When I first started making this bread, it was mid-summer and just leaving it in the laundry would do the trick. So I have been trialling a few different ways of getting the dough to prove.

First prove over thermoserver

The first 15 minute prove I do in a metal bowl. I put some hot tap water in the thermoserver, about half way up, and then sit the bowl of dough on top, covered with cling wrap. After 15 minutes it has doubled in size. I then knock it down and split it into 4 equal portions, and put them into my bread tin and cover with wrap. While the 15 minute prove was happening, I had my oven turned on to 100℃ to warm up. I turned the oven off and put the tin of dough into the warm oven. After about 30 minutes the oven had cooled down, so I turned it back on to 100℃ again for 20 minutes. At this stage, the dough had doubled in size, to just about the top of the bread tin. I took it out of the oven so I could heat it up to 180℃. After 10 minutes I put it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

After 50 minutes proving in warm oven

I don't have a lid for my mackies tin as yet. I will probably get one eventually. To get a square loaf, I space my oven shelves far apart, enough so that I can fit a large baking tray on top of the mackies tin, and it touches the top shelf. That way the bread can't rise any further and it becomes a square loaf.

I'm pretty happy with today's loaf! I usually leave it overnight before cutting into it. I find if I cut it too soon it squashes easily. The bread will last me a couple of days (if it isn't eaten sooner!). The bread improver in the recipe keeps the bread fresher for longer, as well as making it nice and light and fluffy.

Happy thermomixing!