Hi, my name is Amy Riolo. Today, I am working in the kitchen at Sur La Table in Arlington, Virginia and I am going to be showing you how to make classic French milk bread or Pains au Lait.
We are going to proof our yeast then we'll make our dough, knead it and we'll learn also how to shape the dough and bake it in two different ways. To get started, the equipment that we'll need is a heavy duty standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, a small bowl, a large bowl, a wire whisk, a pastry brush, a bench press and a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
The ingredients that we're going to be using today are two-and-a-half teaspoons active dry yeast, one-and-a-quarter cup lukewarm whole milk, two cups unbleached bread flour, two cups all-purpose flour plus extra for the work surface, two teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon sugar, one quarter cup unsalted butter at room temperature, that's half a stick and a teaspoon oil for greasing the bowl.
Kitchen safety is always important. Today, we are going to be working with sharp knives and a hot oven so it's important to be careful and to always supervise children in the kitchen.
Before we get started, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a cookbook author, food writer, Gourmet cooking instructor and restaurant consultant in the Washington, DC area. I graduated from Cornell University and my first cookbook 'Arabian Delights; Recipes & Princely Entertaining Ideas from the Arabian Peninsula' was released in November, 2007. I also have two additional cookbooks, 'Nile Style; Egyptian Cuisine and Culture,' which is being released in spring of 2009 and 'The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook' which will be released in spring of 2010.
Now let's get started prepping our pans and proofing our yeast for the French bread.
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