Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (2024)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (1)



Why are we baking bread at home? ....... Well, I would say, freshly baked bread is one of life's greatest simple pleasures. When your bread turned out to be a success ~ Soft, spongy, tasty ~ that is an accomplishment!





Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (2)



This recipe is definitely a keeper. Using poolish starter, I would say this is a foolproof recipe to make soft bread and the bread stay soft for days. The texture of this bread is exactly like those that we bought from the bakery BUT these are made with NO added bread enhancer/ improver.


There is an important step that you must achieve in order to produce soft bread. Just like any other bread recipes that I shared in my blog, the windowpane test. After kneading for about 12-15 minutes, try to stretch out the dough to see if you can get the soft membrane-like texture. Watch this video if you're unsure what's the windowpane test.





This dough is easy to handle, just need to dust some flour on the dough. Here are some of my creative bread made with this recipe:


Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (3)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (4)
Ribbon twirl bun, filled with Azuki bean paste. Learn the method HERE.
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (5)
'Can you stand on your head?' Cheshire Cat plain bun.
Specially made for my 7yo son.
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (6)
Packed this in his recess bento. A little messy on a rush morning.
Photo updated 2016

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (7)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (8)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (9)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (10)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (11)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (12)
Photo updated February 27, 2017
Packed this for my 8yo boy to eat during school recess.
Love the size of this bread, just nice to fit in his snack box. :)
Click here, LIKE & FOLLOW Miki's Food Archives Facebook Page to receive daily school snack ideas

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (13)
Fluffy and soft homemade bread.
The crust colour is much nicer with egg wash.

Photo updated: September 2019




Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (14)
Kitty Cat Soft Bread made using Poolish Starter
Baked without an oven.
Photo updated: June 2021

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (15)
Decorated Kitty Cat toast
Actually, the boy wanted the grey hamster (same as the plushy) toast,
somehow it turned out to be a kitty cat toast LOL...
Photo updated: June 2021
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (16)
Cinnamon Milk Twist Buns, filled with sweet cinnamon milk paste. Get the recipeHERE
Photo updated: October 2023


Ingredients:
中文食谱:请在网页的右边点击Translate, 然后选择中文翻译

Day 1: I normally get this prepared the night before, says 10pm. Start making bread at 8am the next morning. If you are working, you can prepare this in the morning and make the bread in the evening.

Poolish Starter:

125g Bread Flour

125g Water (room temperature)

1/4 tsp Instant Yeast

~ Mix all the poolish starter ingredients in a container with a wooden spoon to form a thick paste. Cover and leave it at room temperature for about 10 hours. Make sure to use a tall container for this as the poolish will rise.~


Main Dough:

All of the poolish starter




(A)

280g Bread Flour

80g Cake Flour

25g Milk Powder

60g Sugar

8g Salt

1 3/4 tsp Instant Yeast


(B)

1 Egg

140g Milk


(C)

60g Unsalted Butter





Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (17)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (18)
Photo updated February 27, 2017
Baked a plain loaf using this recipe using half portion of the dough.
Pan size: 11cm x 21cm




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如果您要分享此食谱/内容,请联系这个部落格的相关链接。敬请不要复制或改篇为自己的食谱。谢谢!


Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together all (A) ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together all (B) ingredients. Pour (B) mixture into (A), add in all the poolish starter. Knead to form a dough.

3. Gradually knead in (C).

4. When the dough passes the windowpane test, transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it proof until doubled in size, which takes about an hour.

5. When it's ready, transfer the dough onto a floured worktop. Gently deflate the dough, divide the dough into 12 portions. Roll into a ball, cover with cling wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes.

6. You can roll it up to bake a loaf or shape as desired. Get some bread-shaping ideashere.

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (19)
Kitty Cat Loaf baked using Ninja Foodi - Bake/ Roast mode.

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (20)


7. Cover and let it proof for 45 minutes or doubled in size. Egg wash and bake in a preheated oven 180'C for 12-15 minutes.If you do not have an oven at home, I highly recommend you to get Ninja Foodi which is so versatile and the price is reasonable for a multi-function cooker that can bake/ roast, air-fry, pressure cook, slow cook, steam, grill, sear/saute and keep warm. The cooker heats up fast and the heat is distributed evenly as good as an oven.If you're interested, you can use our exclusive discount code to buy at the best market rate.I've attached the details and links below for easy reference.

SINGAPORE:

Ninja Foodican be purchased fromNinja Kitchen Official Website. Cart out with Promo Code:MIKISNSGto get a 10% discount for any Ninja-Shark products.

MALAYSIA:

Ninja Foodi can be purchased viaNinja Shark Official Website. Cart out with Promo Code:MFAOP300to get the lowest price deal.

8. When it's ready, transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when it's completely cooled.

Do share with me if you have tried my recipe.If you like my recipe, clickhere,LIKE & follow Miki's Food Archives Facebook pageor follow us on Instagram:mfa_dingoozatfoodto receive more recipe updates. Don't forget to change the setting to 'SEE FIRST' if you wish to see my post on your Facebook news feed.


Enjoy!

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (21)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (22)

Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (23)


By readers: Some feed back from those who have tried this recipe:


Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (24)
By Wahyuni Tjendera
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (25)
By Marie Goh
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (26)
Feedback from Icepyz Lee
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (27)
By Icepyz Lee
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (28)
Feedback from Icepyz Lee
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (29)
By Icepyz Lee
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (30)
By Low Yansuan
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (31)
By Low Yansuan
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (32)
Feedback from Kerlyn Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (33)
By Kerlyn Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (34)
By Kerlyn Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (35)
By Kerlyn Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (36)
By Kerlyn Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (37)
By Stephanie Tan
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (38)
By Jenny Ng
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (39)
By Pauline Chow
Bakery Style Soft Bread (Easy Poolish Starter recipe) (2024)

FAQs

How do bakeries make bread so soft? ›

Consistency: Bakeries often use machines to ensure consistent kneading and proofing times. This consistency is key to producing the same soft texture batch after batch. Special Ingredients: Many bakeries use dough conditioners or enhancers, which improve the texture and extend the bread's shelf life.

Can poolish be used as a starter? ›

Yes you can substitute sourdough starter with poolish in a bread recipe.

What is the poolish bread formula? ›

You make a poolish consisting of 200 g flour and 200 g water. You make it 12 hours in advance (typically the night before the morning of baking) and it is summer or a nice warm room temperature for the poolish to ferment in.

What is the secret to soft dough? ›

Instant milk powder makes bread dough super soft and fluffy and also helps to give it a good rise. It also contributes to the dough staying nice and soft after baking for a little longer than a recipe that does not use milk powder.

What do bakeries use to keep bread soft? ›

Commercial bakeries use two types of ingredients to slow spoilage — emulsifiers and enzymes. Emulsifiers keep bread from going stale by preventing oil and water from separating. Adding emulsifiers sometimes goes by the names “crumb softening” or “dough conditioning” because it works to preserve texture.

Which ingredient in bread makes bread softer? ›

Use around 5% sugar (percentage of flour), use of milk and honey in the recipe keeps the bread soft and moist after baking if kept covered and protected from dry environments. Use of oil in the recipe also keeps the bread softer.

How long do you let poolish sit? ›

The recommendation is to let your poolish sit on the counter overnight until doubled in size. However, the poolish is forgiving, and can still be used up to 18 hours from the time you mixed it.

Which is better, poolish or biga? ›

Bread made with Poolish typically has a softer, more tender crumb compared to bread made with Biga. The shorter fermentation time in Poolish results in less gluten development, leading to a lighter and more delicate texture. Poolish contributes to a bread with a softer mouthfeel and a finer crumb structure.

Does poolish make bread taste better? ›

A poolish will add really nice, complex flavor to your bread, and help you achieve a light and airy open crumb. The flavor isn't quite as tangy or sour as a traditional sourdough starter, but letting it ferment overnight adds real artisan appeal.

Do you add more yeast when using a poolish? ›

Since a poolish has a hydration of 100% that means the amount of water we need to add to it is 100g. As mentioned, yeast content should be around 0.08% – 0.1%. I went with 0.1%. 0.1% of 100g is 0.1g.

What is another name for poolish? ›

Sometimes referred to as a sponge or barm (although a barm is more technically a natural levain or sourdough starter), tradition has it that the term “Poolish” comes from Polish baker's in Vienna who developed the technique of prefermentation, later adopted by French bakers.

What is the point of poolish? ›

Due to its long fermentation and natural maturation, a Poolish provides an excellent aroma and flavor profile that imparts uniqueness to the finished product. Due to the breakdown of proteins, the Poolish provides amino acids, substrates for Maillard reactions (crust browning and flavor development).

What is the trick to soft bread? ›

One of the easiest ways our bakers follow to make bread soft and fluffy is by using 1-2 tablespoons of lubricant/fats such as vegetable oil to wet the ingredients. This will prevent the formation of excess gluten, as excess gluten makes bread chewy.

Does baking soda make dough soft? ›

It helps to make these soft and spongy. An aqueous solution of baking soda turns red litmus blue. It is also used in soda acid fire extinguisher.

Does milk make dough softer? ›

In the dough stage, milk increases water absorption. Consequently, dough made with milk should come softer from the mixer than dough made with water. Other aspects of milk in yeast doughs include: Dough may be mixed more intensively.

How does commercial bread stay soft? ›

Many of these breads, especially packaged ones, are made with a ton of chemical additives such as calcium propionate, amylase, and chlorine dioxide which help keep them soft, light, and fluffy for days.

How do you keep bread from going hard in a bakery? ›

Bread storage takeaways

Store airtight with the two cut halves facing each other and pressed together. Wrapping bread to retain moisture keeps it soft, though it robs crusty artisan bread of its crispy crust. Wrapping in plastic (or foil) rather than cloth keeps bread soft longer.

What is responsible for making bread soft and fluffy? ›

Final answer: Carbon dioxide gas given off during fermentation of sugar makes bread soft and fluffy.

What ingredient keeps bread soft? ›

Some alternative ingredients can help give your bread added moisture. One such ingredient is milk, which has a high-fat content and can add a delightfully creamy flavor when baking. Additionally, adding mashed potatoes or cooked grains can help keep the crumb soft and tender for days after baking.

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