There is nothing quite like taking a freshly baked loaf out of the oven. We've gone with the fancy plait here, but all you need is a basic recipe and you can explore all sorts of variations like the ones we've detailed below.
1.Combine yeast, water and sugar in small bowl. Cover, stand in a warm place about 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.
2.Sift flour and salt into large bowl, stir in butter, milk and yeast mixture; mix to a soft dough. Knead dough on floured surface about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl. Cover; stand in warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3.Knead dough on floured surface 2 minutes. Divide dough in to thirds. Roll each third into sausage-shaped lengths of about 45cm (18-inches). Plait three lengths together; press ends lightly to secure. Place on greased oven tray; stand in a warm place about 20 minutes or until well risen.
4.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Brush bread with a little extra milk; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake bread about 45 minutes.
5.Turn bread, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
For wholemeal bread, substitute wholemeal plain (all-purpose) flour for half the plain (all-purpose) flour. You may need to mix in a little more warm milk to make a firm dough. For baguettes, starting at step 3: Divide dough in half, shape each half into 40cm (16-inch) sausage, place onto two greased oven trays, cover, stand bread in warm place 15 minutes or until dough has risen. Cut slashes into bread sticks, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour. Bake about 20 minutes. For dinner rolls, starting at step 4: Divide dough into 12 portions, shape into rolls, place onto greased oven trays; cover, stand in warm place 15 minutes or until risen. Cut slashes into rolls, brush with milk; sprinkle with seeds, if desired. Bake about 20 minutes. For a regular loaf, starting at step 3, shape dough to fit and place into a greased loaf tin seam-side down; cover loosely with plastic wrap until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Remove the plastic wrap and bake in centre of preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and bake a further 25 minutes. The bread is ready when the loaf begins to shrink from the side of the tin. It should have a hollow sound when tapped on the base. If it doesn’t sound hollow then return to the oven (not in the tin) and bake upside down for a further 5 minutes.
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