This is our fail-safe bread recipe, and it’s from Gilly’s good friend and ex-partner in crime Rosemary Shrager! You can’t beat a home-baked loaf and this one is so simple to master. Delicious for breakfast!
You can learn all the tips around breadmaking and more on our Baking Masterclasses which we hold during the year.
Ingredients
White strong flour, 650g (plus extra for kneading and dough handling)
Fresh yeast, 15g (or dried yeast 7g)
Tepid water, 450ml
Salt, 10g
Method
Put the flour into a bowl with the yeast. If fresh, make sure it’s all crumbled in well. Add the water to form a dough and then place onto a lightly floured surface. Put your hands into a bowl of flour and shake off any excess, and now stretch the dough with the palm of your hand, and then roll back, turn a quarter turn and stretch again. Continue doing this for about 7 minutes.
Now add the salt, which will draw the water out and allow the dough to soften again. Continue stretching for a further 7 minutes or until there is a good elasticity. Make the dough into a round and place into a floured bowl. Cover with cling film and leave for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
To knock back, remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead for 30 seconds. Place into a buttered 900g loaf tin and make 8 incisions along the loaf diagnolly. Allow to rise again for a further 30 minutes or until it doubles in size again. Sprinkle with flour.
Place in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes. Turn down the heat to 150C and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out if ready. It may take up to another 7 minutes to be fully baked.
Allow to cook before cutting, and then smother in salted butter!