Absolutely everyone should bake their own bread at least once. The touch and feel of the dough, the aroma as it bakes, not to mention the taste, have to be experienced to be appreciated. Do not be at all surprised if bread baking becomes an addiction – of the nicest possible kind – in your household.
• There’s no need to buy special bread flour; regular plain flour will do.
• The dough will rise at room temperature, even when it’s quite cool. It will rise faster in a warm environment, of course, but don’t be tempted to go to more than 42°C.
• You can mix the dough with a dough hook in an electric mixer – you will need a little less water in that case.
• It is usually only necessary to knead bread for a short time – 2 to 3 minutes at most, and only then in the final stage before shaping. However, if you want to add a combination of flours, you might need to knead it for several minutes to help develop the gluten.
• Add 1 tablespoon cider vinegar to the dough, and the bread will keep better.
• Use 1 cup potato water (water strained off boiled potatoes) instead of one of the cups of water in the mixture. This also helps the bread to keep well.
• Honey or molasses can be substituted for the sugar; however, use only half as much.
• Add 1 or 2 tablespoon Greek (or homemade) yoghurt to the dough for extra flavour and nutritional value. Reduce amount of water correspondingly.
Makes 1 large loaf
For this recipe, I use a 24 x 13cm bread (loaf) tin that is 9cm deep. Anything close to that size is fine. However, you can also use this amount of dough to make a large cob or Vienna-style loaf, and bread rolls of any shape or size. The dough is also ideal for making pizza bases.
4 cups (600g) plain flour, plus extra for kneading
4 teaspoons instant dried yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 cups (500ml) warm water, approximately
In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and enough water to make a soft dough, adding a little extra water if needed. Cover with a food-safe plastic bag or a clean tea towel, and leave to rise for about 1 hour or until approximately doubled in size. (At this stage you can take the dough to the following step, or, if you are not ready, just turn it over with a spoon and let it rise again.)
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
When ready, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape into 2 equal-sized balls, and place side by side in the tin. Cover with a tea towel, and allow to rise almost to the top of the tin.
Bake at 200°C for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 170°C and bake for 25–30 minutes more, or until well risen, golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Variations:
You can use half wholemeal or spelt flour, if preferred; however, always keep 2 cups (300g) of plain flour in the dough, or the texture will suffer. This can be overcome if you knead for several minutes longer.
To make fruit bread buns, just add 1 cup dried fruit, of your choice, a coarsely grated unpeeled apple, 1–2 teaspoons mixed spice, and the grated rind of one lemon. Add the spices and lemon at the initial mixing up, but add the fruits only when it gets to the kneading stage – otherwise it slows down the rising of the dough.