Are you familiar with the bread named after the beloved anime "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," a masterpiece praised by locals? It's the white bread that comes to mind when you think of Heidi. It's called "Heidi's White Bread." When Heidi goes to stay at Clara's house in Frankfurt, she secretly takes some of the fluffy white bread, which she never ate in the Alps, back to her room after each meal and hides it in her wardrobe, intending to give it as a gift to her grandmother Peter. This white bread was created with this heartwarming episode in mind, resulting in a soft, fluffy, and chewy texture. I love the heartwarming origin of this bread's name, as well as the bread's own soft and chewy texture. I'm going to try making it to experience Heidi's warm kindness♪
Heidi's white bread
material
200g strong flour, 150cc milk, 20g sugar, 20g butter, 5g salt, 5g dry yeast
The most troublesome part of making homemade bread is making the dough (at least, that's what I, a bread-making novice, think). So, my approach is to cut corners where I can and leave the part I'm worst at to the machine (lol). I put all the ingredients into the dough-making course on my bread maker and leave it for 1 hour and 50 minutes♪
Once the dough is chewy in the bread maker, take it out and, to prevent it from sticking, place it on a baking sheet, divide it into 9 equal portions using a dough scraper, and roll them into balls by hand.
Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, cover each with a damp cloth, and let it rise for 20-30 minutes for the first fermentation.
Using silicone chopsticks, press firmly down the center of the dough to create a groove. *Ideally, you shouldn't cut the dough, but the silicone chopsticks were too thin, so no groove was left (lol).
Set the oven to 40°C, mist the dough with water, and let it rise for 30 minutes for the second fermentation. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it, sprinkle bread flour over the surface using a tea strainer, and bake in an oven set to 150°C for 20 minutes. As this is white bread, be careful not to let it brown too much, and adjust the temperature of your individual oven accordingly.
The sweet aroma of milk fills the air, and the fluffy, chewy texture of Heidi's soft and moist bread is complete. It's so soft and light that you might find yourself eating 3 or 4 pieces in no time, which is a bit scary (lol). In colder weather, it's great with cream stew, or you can fill it with vegetables and ham to make sandwiches! It will shrink a little if you leave it overnight, but it won't get too hard, so just reheat it in a toaster and enjoy!
