I do love fresh homemade bread and having made some lovely soup I thought what I needed with it was some fresh bread, straight from the oven…and that’s exactly what I did!
I used a recipe from the latest Great British Bake Off Cook Book for ‘The Perfect White Loaf. It was pretty straightforward to make, though time consuming. I think that is the downside to making your own bread, it takes ages to make and is demolished in minutes!!
The Perfect White Loaf
Ingredients
- 700g Strong White Bread Flour
- 2 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1x7g sachet Fast Action Yeast
- 450ml Lukewarm Water
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Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add dried yeast. Mix well and then make a well in the centre
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Pour the lukewarm water into the well
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Mix the flour into the water to make a soft but not sticky dough. If there are dry crumbs or the dough feels stiff and dry, work in a little more lukewarm water, if it feels sticky and starts to stick to your fingers, work in a little more flour.
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Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead thoroughly for 10 mins.
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Then gather the dough together back into a ball. Give it a quarter turn and repeat stretching and gathering back movements. It should start to feel pliable yet firm and look smooth and silky
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Return the dough to the bowl and cover. Leave to rise until double the size. (Takes about 1 hour in a warm kitchen, 2 hours in at room temperature and 3 hours in a cool larder or in the fridge overnight)
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Punch down the risen dough with your knuckles to deflate it. Turn it out onto a lightly floured worktop and knead gently for a minute so the gas bubbles are evenly distributed. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and shape each into a ball.
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Roll each ball around under your cupped hand until very smooth and neat, then set it on a sheet of non-stick baking paper. Dust with flour. Cover the loaves lightly and leave to rise until double in size (about 1 hour). Towards the end of the rising time preheat the oven 230C/450F/Gas 8. Heat your baking sheets and put a roasting tin at the bottom of the oven.
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Uncover the loaves, sprinkle with a little more flour and slash with a knife. Transfer them onto the hot baking sheets and put in the oven. Pour a cup of cold water into the hot roasting tin to produce a burst of steam. Bake for 15 mins. Rotate the sheets if necessary. Then reduce the temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and bake for a further 25 to 20 mins or until golden brown and the loaves have a hollow sound when tapped underneath
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Cool on a wire rack.
Just typing this post makes me hungry! Might have to go and bake some more!
