It’s time to crack it…

This year I have dedicated January to all of you first timers. I know I share a lot of tips and bits and bobs but the first thing I am asked by beginner home bakers is “where should I start?”

Well, here’s your starting block. A no nonsense simple white loaf of bread, the simplest loaf I can think of with the simplest method making sure we hit all the important parts of the process along the way.

This is not an “easy loaf of bread” recipe or a “cheaters guide to bread”, there are no shortcuts taken here or corners cut because every time something is done to save time or to save effort then the quality of the final bread is compromised. The flavour and texture are sacrificed and you’ve only to wander the bread isle in your local supermarket to see proof of that.

These are the basic and essential steps laid out for you to follow in a way I see as logical, and it’s my hope that having followed this recipe once you’ll gain a good understanding of what’s going on here but more than that I hope that you won’t be afraid of a second try, or a third try, or a fourth because that practice you’ll get will hold so much more insight and knowledge than I could ever fit on this page.

I wish you the best of luck with this recipe. I would encourage you to watch the video because there’s so much more you’ll get from that and you’ll actually be able to see me kneading and shaping up.

Take your time with it, get your head around it, and make your first EPIC loaf of homemade bread!

Jack :-)

Your First Simple Loaf of Bread

Notes

This recipe will make 2 Loaves. I would always recommend making two because it’s the same amount of work and double the shaping practice and you can always freeze one if you won’t eat it in time. If you prefer to make a single loaf, halve all the ingredients and you’ll be just fine.

 The tins I use here are 2lb Loaf Tins: Base 10cm x 16.5cm Top 13cm x 20cm Height 9cm

Difficulty: Easy, a good place to start.

My Kitchen Temperature: 21°C/70°F

Start to finish:  3 hours 45 minutes plus cooling time

Ingredients

 640g      Room temperature water

 24g        Fresh yeast or 14g dry yeast

 1000g    Strong white bread flour

 16g        Salt

 30g        Olive Oil

Method

Making the Dough

In a large mixing bowl weigh your yeast, add the water and mix together until the yeast is dissolved.

Next add the flour, salt and olive oil.

Mix everything with your dough scraper until it comes together into a rough dough and then turn it out onto a clean table. Knead your dough well for 8 minutes without dusting with any flour. Then, shape it into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Sprinkle the top with a little flour, cover with a clean cloth and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Dividing and Pre-shaping

Dust the top of your dough and use your dough scraper to turn it out onto the table. Make sure the dough comes out of the bowl upside down, sticky side up.

Use your fingertips lightly to flatten the dough and cut into two equal size half-moon pieces with your dough scraper. Fold each piece into a ball by pinching an edge with finger and thumb and folding it over the dough almost to the other side. Keep turning and folding the dough, working your way round until you end up with a bouncy ball of dough. All the seams and joins should end up on one side, and the underside should be smooth and tight. Roll it over bringing the smooth side to the top and cup your hands underneath the dough slightly to tighten it up. Dust lightly with flour and rest your two dough balls next to each other on the table under a proving cloth for 15 minutes.

While you are waiting, lightly grease two loaf tins with oil or butter.

Shaping

Remove the cloth from the top of your dough. The dough balls should have relaxed and spread slightly. One by one, shape up your loaves:

Slide your dough scraper underneath to unstick a dough ball from the table and flip it upside down onto a lightly dusted surface.

Press once again with fingertips and knuckles to push the dough flat into a circle. Slide your fingers, palms up, underneath each side of the dough. Grip the dough and pull to stretch the dough sideways. At an angle fold one side two thirds of the way over the dough and the other side the same so that it ends up overlapping the first fold and you have a kind of capitol A shape. Then roll the dough from the pointy edge towards you into a tight sausage. Squeeze up the seam to stick together.

Drop your loaf into it’s tin seam side down and repeat for the second loaf.

Second Rest

Cover up your loaves with your cloth again, and rest for 1 hour. While the loaves rest, preheat your oven to 200°C Fan/392°F/Gas Mark 7 with a deep tray on the bottom shelf. Fill half a kettle of water ready to go for later if you are baking with steam.

When your loaf has clearly risen and is slightly delicate to the touch get ready to bake.

Baking

When you are ready to bake your loaves, boil the kettle.

Gently place both your loaves on the oven shelf and pour the hot water into the tray beneath (be careful!) and close the oven door.

Bake your loaves for 40 minutes. I bake mine start to finish without checking because I know my oven really well, but if this is your first loaf set a timer for 30 minutes and take a look. If the loaves look like they are taking on too much colour, turn the oven down to 180°C Fan/356°F/ Gas Mark 5 to finish off for the final ten minutes.

When they are done pop them out of the tin and feel the underside. If they are soft and steamy underneath, return them to the oven without the tin for a further 5-10 minutes.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.