Simple Bread Recipe!

Whoever thought that the task of making bread is quite possibly their worst nightmare needs to follow my recipe!  I've made this gorgeous loaf of wholemeal and white bread in less than 20 minutes (excluding proving of course, where no effort is required from you!) and it takes about 30 or so minutes to bake!.  So simple, delicious and much better than any shop bought bread could ever be.  Go on, put some love in it and impress your Valentines day sweetheart!

Ingredients:

325g Strong wholemeal bread flour, I love the Hovis variety

325g Strong white bread flour

50g butter (or about 50ml of olive oil is also good)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 x 7g sachet of Fast Action Bread Yeast, again Hovis is a good one

450ml lukewarm water (1 part hot to 2 parts cold)

1 beaten egg

Optional: chopped olives, green or black, halloumi cheese, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, seasoings of your choice, fried onions etc.

Preparation:

For simple bread that takes minutes follow these step by step instructions for the perfect loaf!

  1. Preheat your oven to gas mark 5/180*C
  2. Put the 2 flours in a large bowl, add the salt and sugar then rub in the flour.
  3. At this point, if you want to add in additional flavourings such as olives, cheese, onions, etc. then do so now.
  4. Sprinkle in the yeast and then make a well in the centre ready to add your water.
  5. Slowly add the water, drawing in the flour from the sides as you go and begin to form a dough.  Continue doing this, starting to knead as you go until you have a soft but not sticky dough.  You may or may not need all of the water but you will certainly need at 400ml of it.
  6. Knead the dough on a floured work surface for about 10 minutes to make sure the final baked loaf will be nice and light.
  7. Place the kneaded dough back in the bowl and cover with cling film.  Place in a nice warm place (the top of your preheated oven is a good place) and leave to prove (rise) until it has doubled in size.
  8. Knock back (this is fun, go on, give it a really good punch!) and then knead again for about 5 minutes, no more.  Form into a round ball, or long loaf shape, or even put in a 2lb loaf tin.
  9. Score the top of the loaf in 3 lines and set aside in a warm place, uncovered until the loaf has risen again.  You'll know it's ready as the score lines you've made will have opened out.
  10. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle over sesame seeds if you like then bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until nicely browned all over and the bottom sounds hollow when knocked.

Slice nice and hot with lashings of butter and homemade jam....hmmmm!