BAKE A REAL FRESH LOAF TODAY

NOW HEAR THIS



1 .Bread making is not the strange mysterious business we have in the past been lead to believe.


2 .Baking bread with fast acting yeast will make a loaf every bit as good as a loaf baked with fresh yeast, so ignore the bread snobs!

3 .Bread making does not take hours to do.

Once you believe the above statements beautiful bread is within your grasp, try it once and you will be hooked. Now throw out your bread making recipes and have faith.

You will need a large bowl for mixing the dough, a 2 lb loaf tin and a baking sheet.

To make a white loaf.

1 and a half pounds of strong bread flour

2 teaspoons of dried yeast

1 or 2 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of sugar

half to three quarters of a pint of water.

2 tablespoons of cooking oil.

Grease the tins . Put the dry ingredients in to a large bowl and mix well,add the oil and mix again. Now add the water gradually as you do not need the dough to wet. All this rubbish about the wetter the better only means that you will have to add more flour during the kneading process to prevent the dough from sticking pt the work top. This will upset the flour to dough ratio and spoil the bread.

Turn the dough out on to a floured work top and begin to knead gently,do not pull and tear the dough treat it with a little love. Add small amounts f flour if required and knead for ten minutes then divide in to two.

For the tin loaf

Take half of the dough and knead for 1 minute then shape in to a round. Flatten with your palms into the size of a small p[pizza then fold sides to middle, tuck in the ends and put in to the loaf tin smooth side up. Do not worry if it looks small it will fill the tin later. Ache a sharp knife and cut through the middle of the loaf to form a split,cover with greased cling film and leave until doubled in size.

Take the second piece of dough and knead for 1 minute them shape in to a round as before tucking the edges underneath. Now roll with your hands to form a fat sausage shape and lift on to a tray. With a sharp knife score 6 slits at an angle across the to[of the loaf to form a bloomer. Cover with greased cling film and leave until doubled in size. In a warm kitchen this does not take long so turn your oven tempature to 230oC.

When the dough has risen brush the top with a little milk or sprinkle with flour then place in the hot oven for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes reduce the temperature to 200oC and bake for a further fifteen minutes. Remove from the oven then remove form the tins and cool on a wire rack,cover with a clean cloth while cooling as this will ensure a crust which is not too hard.

If granary of barley bread is your pleasure use 2 thirds granary flour to one third white bread flour and proceed as usual this ensures a lighter loaf,rather than the rocky artisan loaves you buy in the shops.

Remember that it is as easy to make five loaves as it is to make one so it is worth making your bread rolls, baguettes etc all at once and freezing then for later use.
I bake bread three times a week and the whole process usual takes about an hour from start to finisincluding the washing up.

Think of the gorgeous toast,the home make garlic bread,the sandwiches and the fresh bread rolls with some tasty home made soup,it really is worth the effort so have a go.

One more thing, making your own bread does wonders for your kitchen cred!