The smell of freshly made bread will impress your friends and give them a healthy alternative to store-bought bread. It is nutritious and makes a wonderful and unusual casual gift, especially when it is still warm from the oven. And it is so easy to do!
Ingredients
To make a standard two pound loaf, you will need:
- 27 ounces of white flour
- 2 ounces of butter
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 16 fluid ounces of water
- A teaspoon of dried yeast
*The salt is included to make the bread remain fresh longer. If you are concerned about the health effects of salt or are cooking for someone who has a slat-free diet, simply omit the salt and eat the bread quickly!
Equipment
- A mixing bowl
- A greased loaf tin
- A lightly floured surface
Method
- Place the flour and the butter in the salt in the mixing bowl.
- Add the yeast.
- Add the water.
KEY TIP: if the water is too hot (i.e. boiling) it will kill the yeast. Mix half boiling water with half cold water – this will produce quite warm water and will make the kneading process qucker.
Finally, add the water and start to ‘knead’ the mixture.
KNEAD – this means to work or manipulate the mixture with your hands, folding the mixture back in on itself. When you start to kneed the mixture will be very sticky and you will think that it will never change. However, keep going and it will become less sticky.
As it gets less sticky the mixture can be transferred to the floured surface and continue to be kneaded: pull the mixture around and keep it moving – by doing this you are helping the yeast perform its magical chemical trick. You will know the kneading process is over when you can push a finger in the dough and the dough regains its shape.
Then all you need to do is wait for the dough to rise. You can leave it on the floured surface as long as you cover it with a cloth. The dough will rise to double its size. The speed at which the dough rises depends on how room your room is. You can even put the dough in your refrigerator and it will rise – but it might take 24 hours!
Baking the Loaf
When the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to the greased metal loaf tin and then put it in a pre-warmed oven at 450 F for 30 minutes –and your loaf will be ready!
Developments
As you get more confident and make more bread, you can vary the recipe and add nuts/seeds or cheese or spices to give your loaves a distinctive touch. Pumpkin seeds work especially well and are also very good for you.
