Bread

I have been watching River Cottage, a British TV show about living life in a more self-sufficient way and was inspired to make my own bread. The picture above was my most successful attempt. The one at the top is a plain white loaf cooked in a tin and the other is a basil free-form loaf.

There is a lot of preconceptions that making your own bread from scratch is hard but it really isn't. There are 4 main ingredients and everything else is up to you. Your bread is your own you can make it as inventive or as boring as you like.

The recipe that I started with was an old one from Jamie Oliver's very first book "Naked Chef". I then adapted it to suit what I had at the time and after 3 attempts I am really happy with this as the final recipe.

In a large bowl combine 1kg of plain flour, 10g of salt and 2x7g packets of dry yeast. Make a well in the centre and gradually incorporate roughly 600mLs of water stirring in a circular motion with the tips of you fingers on one hand letting the flour fall into the water. This dough should be fairly sticky at this stage. Turn it out on to a large clean surface and knead really well (about 10 minutes).

Just a little note on kneading, the first few times I attempted this my bread was quite dense and didn't rise any further after being placed in the oven. Kneading is incredibly important, if you don't knead long enough the gluten does not develop properly therefore your bread will not hold the air spend so much time trying incorporate into it.  The kneading technique is also important, the action should be a push and pull. Push most of the dough away from you, stretching it over the surface then pulling it back together. It's much easier to push with one hand then pull it back together with the other, this way you get into a rhythm. Once the kneading is done the dough should be elastic (when you stretch it the strands don't break) and slightly springy.

Now it's time for the yeast to do its thing. Proving. This recipe makes 2 loaves and needs to prove twice. For the first prove place in a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

By now it should have doubled in size. Knock it back by gently pressing on it with a fist. Divide equally in half and either place in a tin or shape. 

To flavour you dough incorporate the flavour before you shape it. Place a generous amount of your favourite herbs, spices, cheese or fruit* on top of the dough and fold the dough over it. The filling my cause the dough to burst open on the sides, this is okay just keep folding it over and it will incorporate eventually.   If you have a lot of filling you may want to do this in a few goes.

For a round shape tuck one edge of your dough underneath the loaf , turn 45 degrees and keep tucking until you have a fairly evenly shaped loaf. If you want a loaf like the ones above, tuck the top and bottom edges under first and then tuck a smaller amount of dough under the ends.

Preheat you oven to 235 degrees C. Score the top of your shaped loaves with a sharp knife 3-4 times and prove for a further 40 minutes. Gently place in the hot oven and cook for 20-30 minutes. to check if its ready tap the top, if it sounds hollow it's done. Leave to cool on a wire rack, if you can. 

I find the smell of my bread fresh from the oven irresistible. Making your own bread takes time but is thoroughly satisfying. Once you get the hang of the techniques is is very easy too. I hope this inspires you to throw away the store bought bread and taste your very own home made loaf.  

* When using dried fruit soak it in a little hot water first so it doesn't draw the water from your dough.