My best bread ever

Sorry for the absence...a general glut of things to do and a lack of time or inspiration to cook anything interesting are the excuses! But, I'm back!

This weekend I was planning a very quiet one because of the busy week I'd had, and I fancied doing some basic baking. Nothing fancy with icing or creaming of butter and sugar and whatnot, just straight up home basics. I made pikelets, scones (which I've learned I am not good at making!) and two types of bread (mostly because we were out of bread and I didn't relish the thought of going back to the supermarket).
I made a brown seeded loaf which is super easy and tasty, but the true triumph of the weekend was my white bread. I love baking bread and make it quite frequently, but no matter how hard I try, I never quite manage to achieve the lightness of dough that bakery-bought bread has. It's always delicious and pretty damn good, but never perfect. This time, it was! I was so excited about it that I polished off the entire loaf (actually, I held help from the lad), and with each slice marvelled at its brilliance!
Now, unfortunately, I haven't got the faintest of ideas why this loaf was different. I did measure things properly, but I usually do with baking anyway, so that shouldn't have made the difference. I also let it rise a bit longer than normal - most of the day, probably 5 hours at least. But again, I've done that before (in fact I sometimes leave dough to rise overnight in the fridge). Maybe it was the flour, or maybe the warmth of the day which led to the light, fluffy loaf. Who knows. All I know is that the recipe below is the one I used and the final result was grand.

Basic White Bread*

Ingredients

• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 425 ml warm water
• 2.5 tsp dried yeast, or 20g fresh yeast
• 750g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp salt
• 40g butter, or 4 tbsp olive oil
• vegetable oil, for greasing
• 1 egg, beaten
• poppy or sesame seeds, for the top of the loaf (optional)

Method

1. In a measuring jug, mix the sugar with 150ml of the warm water and yeast and let stand in a warm place for five minutes, or until frothy. If using fast-acting yeast, there is no need to let the mixture stand.

2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter and make a well in the centre. (If using olive oil instead of butter, pour the olive oil into the remaining water.) Pour in the yeast mixture and most of the remaining water (and the olive oil, if using). Mix to a loose dough, adding the remaining water if needed, plus extra if necessary.

3. Knead for about ten minutes or until the dough is smooth and springy to the touch. (If kneading in an electric food mixer with a dough hook, five minutes is usually long enough.) Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover the top tightly with cling film and place somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size. This may take up to two or even three hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7.

5. When the dough has more than doubled in size, knock back and knead again for 2–3 minutes. Leave to relax for ten minutes before you begin to shape the bread.

6. Shape the bread into loaves or rolls (or if you're feeling fancy, plait it like I did! there's still enough for another normal loaf), transfer to a baking tray and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow to rise again in a warm place for 20–30 minutes, until the shaped dough has again doubled in size.

7. Gently (as the bread is full of air at this point and therefore very fragile) brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds (if using), or dust lightly with flour for a rustic-looking loaf.

8. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes for rolls or 30–45 minutes for a loaf, depending on its size. Turn the heat down to 200C/gas 6 after 15 minutes for the remaining cooking time. When cooked, the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.


It was a thing of beauty...too pretty to eat, and yet too delicious smelling not to!

*The recipe comes from Rachel Allen's Bake! recipe book.