Simple Bread Loaf

I have had the most successful baking day today! I've never made a proper loaf of bread before, and decided it was about time I tried one. I've made iced buns and bread rolls once before, both of which turned out well and I just love the satisfaction of making your own bread. I love watching it rise while you proof it - it's not like anything else you can bake! Seeing as me and my boyfriend were having an unproductive day and not doing much, and seeing as I'd need a packed lunch to take with me to my volunteer job on Monday, I decided it was about time I made one!

 

Recipe

500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp salt

7g sachet fast-action yeast

3 tbsp olive oil

300ml water

 

I adjusted it to 1 tsp salt from 2 as I thought 2 was a bet excessive. I also used cold water - although some people say warm water helps with the activation of the yeast. But my loaf turned out great with cold water, so I suppose its personal preference!

 

Firstly, mix together the flour, salt and yeast. Make a well in the middle and add the oil and the water until it comes together into a dough.

 

 



It should look something like this. A bit weird looking, but stick with it, once it has been kneaded it will all come together! I mixed it for about 10 mins in my stand mixer, because I'm lazy. But you can knead it by hand if you don't have one. Once it has been kneaded, it will become all soft and pillowy.

 

 

Once you've kneaded it enough, put it in a bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover it with clingfilm. You can either leave it in the fridge overnight, or leave it to prove for an hour or two on a counter top. I left mine to prove for a couple of hours, as I felt an hour wasn't quite enough.

 

 

It's about doubled in size now, as you can see! Now, take it out the bowl and give it a bit of a punch and mould it into a long, thick shape to fit into a loaf tin. I don't have a loaf tin, so I used this fancy cake tin my brother got me for Christmas. You can adjust it so that you can make different square/rectangle shapes. It's such a good idea!

 

 

Here's what mine looked like, and a sneak peak at my fancy tin :D Leave it to prove again. I left mine for about 3-4 hours. I was going to put it in the oven after a couple of hours, but then got distracted with making dinner and whilst I was doing that it grew even more!

 

 

Yay! All nice and proved! I brushed some egg on the top, sprinkled it with flour and then to make it look all fancy, I slit it diagonally a few times across the top. That's completely optional though. I then cooked it on  200°C for half an hour. It should sound hollow on the bottom.

 

 

And there you have it, a perfect loaf of bread! I didn't believe it was that easy, either. It turned out so soft and lovely, just like from a bakery. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!

 

 

 

 

Liddie x