Eggless White Bread

I have baked bread before, but has never come right. So this is the first time it has come soft, spongy, aromatic, with a great crust. Yeah I am boasting. But I am happy with the way this has turned out! I hear myself saying cut the crap and get down to business..

I always use brown bread (whole wheat bread) for our breakfast. So I have tried twice with atta to make the bread. They were good but heavy. Not fluffy enough. But this time, I said to myself, let me try first with Maida(APF) once I get the basics correct, I will graduate to Whole wheat bread. Next I am planning for half APF and half Atta. There is nothing new I have added in this one. But learnt few things. I saw in Vicky goes Veg in NDTV Good Times. In that he mentioned while proving yeast, sugar is added as it is the food for yeast to thrive. So I fed them enough food :-)

APF 2 1/2 cups
Sugar 2 tbls
Instant dry yeast  2 tbls
Olive Oil 4 tbls
Salt as required
Milk 1/3 cup
Curd 1/3 cup
Baking soda - a generous pinch
Herbs if needed

1. Warm milk and add Yeast, Sugar, 1 tbls of Oil, 1 tbls of Flour. Mix well.
2. Let it for 15 mins for the Yeast to prove.
3. Once the Yeast mixture is fluffy, add Curd and Baking soda to it.
4. Pour the Yeast mixture and 2 tbls of Oil to the APF and knead for 10 mins into a soft dough.
5. Coat the rest 1 tbls of Oil over the dough and keep it in a big vessel, so that it will have space to double.
6. Cover with a moist kitchen napkin.
7. After an hour, the dough will be doubled.
8. Coat the loaf tin with oil and shape the dough into a log and place it inside.
9. Alternately you can roll them into a balls make buns.
10 Again let it to double in the tin.
11. Give milk wash on the top.
12. Preheat the oven to 200 deg Celsius and bake the bread for 30 or 35 mins or until the crust browns.
13. Spongy bread is ready!

Note:
I sprinked basil on top of the dough after milk wash as it would enhance the aroma of the bread.
I smothered the bread with butter once it was out of the oven. It increased the taste!