White bread

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook, stir together the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, until very foamy.
2. Add the flour, melted butter, and salt. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute, until a shaggy dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape in any dry bits.
3. Increase to medium-low and knead for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic. The dough should feel moist but not sticky, and spring back quickly when you press it lightly.
4. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn it once to coat. Cover and let it rise in a warm, draught-free spot at about 24 °C for 40 to 50 minutes, until nearly doubled. It should spring back slowly when you press it with a damp fingertip.
5. Meanwhile, grease two 23 × 13 cm loaf tins with butter or spray.
6. Gently deflate the dough and tip it onto a very lightly floured surface. Divide it into 2 equal pieces (about 630 g each).
7. Shape each piece into a rectangle of about 20 × 30 cm. From a short edge, roll it up tightly into a log and pinch the seams. Tuck the ends under. Put the logs seam side down in the tins. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic and let them rise for 25 to 35 minutes, until the dough domes just above the rim.
8. While the loaves prove, preheat the oven to 175 °C. Just before baking, brush the tops with a little extra melted butter if you like.
9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. The internal temperature should be about 93 to 95 °C. Let the loaves cool for a few minutes in the tins, then turn them out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely before you slice them.

• A hydration of 66 to 67 % gives a soft, easy-to-handle enriched dough.
• Butter (7.8 %) plus sugar (3.5 %) make this a mildly enriched sandwich bread: tender crumb, but not as rich as brioche.
• The yeast (1.9 %) is quite high; a typical sandwich bread has 1 to 1.5 %. Two packets for two loaves is common in home recipes, for a faster first rise. For a slightly slower fermentation and more flavour, use about 1.25 to 1.4 % (9 to 10 g for 2 loaves) and extend the rise times.
• For 3 or 4 loaves you can use less yeast than the scaled amount, for better flavour: about 15 to 16 g for 3 loaves, or 20 g for 4 loaves.
• Salt at 1.5 to 1.7 % is in the normal range. At 1.4 % the bread tastes a little under-salted if you like it savoury.

Cold ferment (overnight, 10 to 14 hours at 3 to 5 °C)

Builds more flavour, keeps the bread fresh longer, and makes the timing easier. The key change is much less yeast, so that the dough does not exhaust itself in the fridge. All the other ingredient weights stay the same. Optional: use 20 g sugar for slightly less sweetness.

Yeast for 2 loaves (choose one form):

• Instant yeast: 1.0 to 1.4 g (0.14 to 0.19 %)
• Dry yeast: 1.5 to 2.0 g (0.21 to 0.28 %), for example 1.6 g (0.22 %)
• Fresh yeast: 3 to 4 g (0.42 to 0.56 %)

Pick the lower end if your fridge runs a bit warm (above 4.5 °C) or you plan the full 14 hours. Pick the higher end for a shorter 10 to 12 hours, or a cold fridge (3.5 °C or less). The 14 g dry yeast of the base recipe (1.94 %) is far too much for an overnight cold bulk.

1. Water: use cool room-temperature water (20 to 22 °C), so that the dough does not start too fast before it is chilled.
2. Bloom (optional for dry yeast): stir the yeast into the water with the sugar. Let it stand for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly foamy. Instant yeast can go straight in with the flour.
3. Mix: combine all the ingredients, including the yeast. Mix only to moderate gluten development, 4 to 5 minutes on medium-low. The folds and the time finish the development.
4. Bench rest and folds: put the dough in a lightly oiled container. After 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature, give it 1 gentle stretch and fold. A second fold 20 to 30 minutes later is optional. Total time before chilling: 30 to 45 minutes. The dough should just begin to show a few small bubbles, and not rise much.
5. Cold bulk: cover airtight and refrigerate for 10 to 14 hours. Target: about 60 to 80 % more volume at the end. It will likely not fully double, and that is fine. If it threatens to double early, gently degas it once and put it back.
6. Warm and divide: take the dough out of the fridge. Let it stand for 20 to 30 minutes, until the outside softens slightly (the inside may still be cool). Turn it out, divide it (about 630 g pieces), and pre-shape lightly. Rest for 15 to 20 minutes, seam down and covered, until relaxed.
7. Final shape: roll each piece into a tight loaf as in the base recipe, and put it seam side down in a greased tin.
8. Final proof (room temperature, 22 to 24 °C): 45 to 75 minutes. The dough is cooler, so expect longer than in the base recipe. It is ready when the dough crowns 1 to 2 cm above the rim, and a fingertip poke springs back slowly and leaves a slight dent.
9. Bake: as in the base recipe, at 175 °C. For slightly better oven spring and colour, start at 190 °C for 10 minutes, then lower to 175 °C and bake to 93 to 95 °C internal.
10. Let the bread cool fully before you slice it.

Retarded final proof

Instead of a full cold bulk, do most of the fermentation at room temperature and chill the shaped loaves:

• Use a little more yeast: 2.0 to 2.5 g dry yeast (0.28 to 0.35 %), or 1.4 to 1.8 g instant yeast.
• Bulk at room temperature until about 50 to 60 % bigger (about 45 to 60 minutes).
• Divide, shape, put in the tins, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• Bake straight from the fridge (add 2 to 3 minutes). Or, for a slightly fuller proof, give the loaves 20 to 30 minutes on the counter while the oven heats.

Troubleshooting

• The dough hardly rose in the fridge: give it extra time at room temperature after you divide it (add 15 to 25 minutes to the final proof). Or put the shaped loaves in a slightly warmer spot (26 to 27 °C) for the first 10 to 15 minutes.
• The dough nearly doubled in the fridge and feels very gassy or fragile: gently degas it once while it is cold, give it 1 light fold, rest it for 15 minutes, then continue. Expect a slightly tighter crumb, but still good flavour.
• A strong alcohol smell: the dough is slightly over-fermented. Next time, shorten the time or lower the yeast by about 0.05 percentage points.
• You used the 14 g yeast of the base recipe by mistake: divide the dough after only a brief 20 to 25 minutes at room temperature, and put it in the tins. Put the tins in the fridge uncovered for 10 minutes, so that the surface cools, then cover them. Check after 45 to 60 minutes: the loaves may already be close to ready to bake the same evening. A true overnight will likely over-proof them.

Quick adjustment rules

• For each 4 hours of cold bulk beyond 8 hours, lower the yeast by about 25 to 30 % (relative), within sensible limits.
• Fridge 2 °C warmer: lower the yeast by about 10 to 15 %.
• With 10 % whole wheat flour, the yeast can stay the same. Fermentation may be a little faster (more nutrients), so watch the volume.

Cold ferment compared with same-day

• More developed wheaty sweetness and a subtle fermentation aroma.
• A slightly thinner crust and easier slicing. The bread stays soft longer, because the starch retrogradation is slower.
• Possibly a slightly more open crumb, if it is not over-proofed.