My basic white loaf

When I first started making bread, I stuck to white bread. I tried a few recipes and made a few changes and now, if I want to make a good old fashioned white loaf I use this recipe:

450g/1lb strong bread flour
300ml tepid water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil

• Activate the yeast in the water if necessary, see the packet instructions.
• In a large bowl add all your dry ingredients
• Pour in the water and the oil and bring it together slowly with a fork, once it gets to stiff to stir with the fork use your hands to work into a scraggy dough.
• Turn out onto a floured table and knead for 5-10 minutes
• You will see that the dough becomes smoother, less sticky and more elasticated.
• Shape into a rough round and place back in the bowl, cover and leave to prove for an hour, if the room is chilly it may take longer, so look to see for when the dough has double in size.
• The next step is called 'knocking back' this is because you deflate the air that is in the dough (knock out the air) and and it returns to its original size before it was left to prove (back to original size).
• Shape and place seam side down either in a greased bread tin, or on baking try or on a bread/pizza peel (sausage shaped to put into a loaf tin, bread rolls, plaited, or a large round, the list of shapes is endless).
• Cover and leave to prove once more. Half way through the proving time, pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C. If you are using a bread/pizza stone out it in the oven when cold and allow to pre-heat with the oven.

I shaped my loaf int a round to give it a rustic look, and left it to prove on my pizza peel which I had floured before hand.

• Once doubled in size slash the top if desired and in the oven it goes.

•  Cook for about 30 minutes for a large loaf or 15 minutes for rolls, to check the bread is cooked, turn it over (take out of tin too) and tap the bottom  gently, it should sound hollow when cooked.

• Cool on a wire rack.

Happy cooking

xoxo