Easy, step by step bread. And how to knead.
There is nothing, I think, quite as delicious as the smell of bread baking. I know there are times in the kitchen when you want to rush in, whip up something quick, and rush out again, but there are other times when a quiet potter is just fabulous. For those times, breadmaking is ideal. I love kneading bread – there’s something quite hypnotic and soothing about it – and producing a home-made loaf is possibly one of the most satisfying things you can do.
As you know, I’m a bit of a rapeseed oil nut, and it’s perfect for this recipe, being both very healthy and pleasantly nutty in flavour, but you can use olive oil or melted butter. Just make sure it weighs 50g.
450g strong white bread flour
2tsp salt (remember a tsp is flat though, don’t overdo it)
1 sachet (7g) yeast
50g rapeseed oil
300ml warm water
So first, sift the flour and salt, then stir in the yeast. Measure out the oil, pour that in, then use the same jug to measure the warm water (it’ll pick up some of the oil that was left in the jug) and pour that in.
Stir it around with a wooden spoon, then when it’s roughly together, flump it out onto your work surface.
The science bit:
Think of gluten as the spongy network that holds all the bubbles (of carbon dioxide, but hey, that’s me being picky) produced by the yeast in place. This is the most important bit of bread making. You want the gluten to form nice strong chains – under-kneaded bread will be tough, so don’t skimp.
Kneading technique:
Everyone’s got their own techniques, but all you’re aiming to do is stretch and develop the gluten and aerate the dough (as well as making sure that all your ingredients are thoroughly mixed). Most forms of squishing, folding and stretching will do the trick.
First things first: don’t worry if your dough is sticky – you want your dough to be sticky. Your fingers will get covered in dough – don’t worry! The stickier your dough,the softer and more plumptious your bread.
Start off roughly squeezing it together and then start pushing it away from you with the heel of one hand (you have to use your imagination a bit here, because obviously my other hand was holding the camera). Really smoosh the dough across the work surface:
… then bring it in, folding it over, and squish it together:
…then push it away from you again. Carry on doing that until your dough is soft, stretchy and plump – about ten minutes should do it – and bounces back when you stick your finger into it (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but yes, it should be the texture of a nice soft bum cheek).
Rising:
Flour the bowl and pop your ball of dough into it. Loosely cover with clingfilm and pop into your airing cupboard alongside the pillows and enormously fat, bad tempered cat (hence the clingfilm). Leave it for a good hour or until it’s doubled in size.
Knocking back:
Fetch your dough, avoiding your unpleasant feline, pull it away from the edges and give it a couple of thumps with your fist to knock it back.
Additions:
This is the time to add stuff in if you’re being fancy: olives, sundried tomatoes, seeds… whatever you like. As a rough estimate, I’d keep the ingredients to under 150g.
Shaping:
Plop it once more onto a floured surface. This time, you’re thinking finished product, so give it a quick squish and start forming it into whatever shape you like. Being blessed with the decorative talent of an amoeba, I usually go for something plain – a rough, ball shape with a slit down the middle, but hey, if you want to plait, don’t let me stop you.
Second rise:
Flour a baking tray and place the dough on it, loosely covering it again and then it’s back to the airing cupboard or sunny windowsill for its final rise. It probably won’t take another hour, but just wait until it’s nice and puffed up.
Baking:
Preheat the oven to 200/gas 6 and bake for about 20 – 30 minutes. Obviously a ball shape is going to take longer to cook than a flatter shape. When it’s done it will be browned, and will sound hollow when you tap its bottom (ooer).
This is quite a soft, farmhouse loaf, but it’s got a lovely texture. Obviously it won’t keep as well as plastic bread, so it’s best to scoff it warm from the oven.
PS: If you’re a first-time bread maker, make sure you take a picture of your efforts – great competition coming up very soon!
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Actually the I made could have been used as a bowling ball. We’ll leave it there shall we?
Try again, go on go on go on go on…..
BTW how many disappointed hits are you going to get from the words ‘bum cheek’
I tried this yesterday done completely in the KitchenAid and I have to say it was just as good – maybe not quite as satisfying as kneading it yourself, but very quick and easy xx
Must try it with rapeseed oil instead of butter..