So You Want To Make Some Bread

I worked it out a plain white loaf (Farl recipe) costs me about 50p to produce, using a supermarkets basic strong white floor. I was going to say I found it relaxing, however bread needs kneading for about for 5 minutes, I am a fast kneader, if there is such a thing and so I tend get a sweat on.

I have my favourite bread book ‘100 Great Breads’ by Paul Hollywood. The Farl and Pain de Campagne recipes listed below are from this book. I was introduced to Paul Hollywood and his philosophy of baking, when he used to appear on the now defunct UKTV Food show Great Food Live with Jeni Barnett. Sadly he has disappeared from our screens.

Another great book I got recently is called Bread Matters and goes into great depth about the failings of the industry and the bland bread that’s become the norm. I haven’t really done much from this book yet, there looks to be some good recipes and apparently the sourdough recipe is first class. I go through phases of making sourdough bread; you really do get into a daily ritual, as there a quite a few process for the sourdough. The main principle of sourdough is that there is no yeast in the dough, it is made from cultures naturally in the air. It’s that simple, its how they made bread 1000 years ago.

my favourite bread recipes :



Farl

500g Strong White Bread Flour
60g butter
30g fresh yeast
300ml of water

1 tblsp of Salt


Add the flour and salt to a bowl, and mix thoroughly so that too much salt doesn’t come into contact with the yeast, as salt will kill yeast, add all the other ingredients and combine into a ball, that’s not too dry or too wet.

Flour a clean working surface and knead your ball of dough for 5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and leave for an hour. To give the proofing/rising process a kick-start, I always place it near a grill or somewhere warm, I turn the grill on full blast for a couple of minutes. Then leave for an hour. Turn the bowl upside down, and because of the oiled bowl, the dough will simply and theatrically fall out. Shape into a ball, flatten slightly so that it’s about 2 inches deep and place on an oiled/lined tray. Give the bread a good covering of flour Then with a very sharp knife make a slash in the center of the bread, then work outward, so that you have 5 groves, or however many feel right. Then leave for another hour for the 2nd proof/rising. The book says the bread needs to be slashed just before going into the oven. I find if you do that, you simply deflate the dough and all the good work you have done disappears.

Put in a preheated oven at 220 Celsius / 225 F / mark 7 and bake for 30 minutes, remove from the over and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Pane de Campagne

400g Strong White Bread Flour
100g Rye Flour
30g fresh yeast
50g butter, softened
1x large bunch of fresh oregano (de-stalked and chopped)
or a teaspoon of dried oregano
300 ml of water

For this recipe, add all the ingredients into a bowl except the water. Slowly add the water and bring the dough together. Knead for 6 minutes, put back in an oiled bowl and leave for two hours. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape into a ball, flatten slightly and dust with flour, place on an oiled/lined tray and then mark out a square on the top of the dough. Leave to proof for an hour

Put in a preheated oven at 220 Celsius / 225 F / mark 7 and bake for 30 minutes, remove from the over and allow to cool on a wire rack.

As I didn't have any fresh oregano I added a teaspoon of dried oregano. I didn't over do it as the bread had a very subtle flavour of oregano. If you want a more pronounced flavour maybe try it with 2 teaspoons. I think that's what I will be doing next time.

The Farl recipe I use as my basic white loaf, Its good for baking round loafs, standard rectangle loafs and even baguettes. However if I know ahead of time I want to make a baguette I would use the traditionally recipe that lets the a batter stand overnight to develop its flavour. From doing the various recipes in Hollywood's book I have gone from been a fan of a cottage loaf, that only needs 1 hour proofing. To understanding why the best breads need a double proofing. It may take a couple of hours before the bread even goes in the oven however its worth it. If you cannot stand the wait try soda bread, because as soon as the dough is mixed and ready, you just put it on a tray and it goes into the oven without any proofing. This is simply because Soda bread uses baking powder instead of fresh yeast, which needs the proofing time to activate and do its magic.

One of the things I love about making my own bread is that when it comes to slashing the bread. You can do what you want, some days I feel like a Z, other days its a traditional Farl slash, sometimes its a simple cross. When the bread comes out of the oven it is only then the beauty of slashing can be seen. The bread should have a nice contrast. almost a two-tone effect, with the floured parts next to the bare slashed parts. I think my pictures should highlight this. now what to do with a nice warm loaf out of the oven, just add butter or make a sandwich.

Next ...... The Sandwich