What is Butter Bread?
Butter bread is wheat bread that has been enriched with butter. Basic bread is made with flour, yeast, and salt. Enriched Doughs add fats such as butter or eggs to the dough.
Brioche, a type of butter bread, is common. However, bakers in different cultures have created their own versions. Better-off, for example, is a buttered bread that’s eaten in Switzerland on Sunday mornings. Butter bread is often found in dinner rolls, challahs, French pain de Mie, and German stollens.
This type of bread is sweetened by its relatively high-fat content. The fat makes the bread dough soft and reduces the length of the wheat gluten strands in the dough.
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Butter Bread and Sponge Method
The sponge method involves mixing the yeast with flour, sugar, and water in order to jumpstart the fermentation process. The result is bread with an extremely complex flavor. This method involves kneading the dough and letting the gluten develop until it reaches the windowpane stage before adding butter.
Using whole wheat flour for butter bread
You can add nutritional value to your bread by using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. All breads have a high carbohydrate content and are low in cholesterol and protein. Whole wheat flour can add dietary fiber to your bread, while enriched flours have significant nutritional amounts of riboflavin (a B vitamin), folic acid (a B vitamin), vitamin D, and niacin.
How to make homemade butter bread
Here are some tips to help you bake your own bread.
1. Chill your dough. Most bread doughs rise best in a warm environment, but if you can, it is better to let the dough rise first in the fridge. The fat in the butter can weaken the gluten and make it difficult to form enriched dough at room temperature.
2. Knead using a stand mixer: Knead the dough with a mixer. Butter bread contains extra fat, which weakens gluten. Kneading, therefore, can be a lengthy process.
3. Prepare for a long rise: Do not rush the enriched dough.
4. Bake the bread at a lower temperature. Because the dough is thicker, it takes more time to bake. Bake between 325 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit in order to bake the bread inside and out without burning the crust.