Baking bread

Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes

Course: Side dish, Snacks
Favourite flavours: Condiment

Instead of buying bread at the supermarket or the bakery, try making your own bread at home. It's easy, cheap and lots of fun.

INGREDIENTS

Basic bread
Makes 1 loaf
Prep time 20 minutes
Resting time 90 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes

3 cups (450g) plain flour (white, or a mixture of 2 cups white and 1 cup wholemeal)

2 teaspoons bread improver (optional)
1½ teaspoons salt
1 sachet instant yeast
1½-1 2/3 cups (375-420ml) warm water

METHOD

1. Sift flour, bread improver and salt into a large warmed bowl, then stir in yeast. Make a well in centre and add warm water. Mix flour and water with a wooden spoon, then beat with a hand, adding a little more water or flour if necessary to make a soft dough.

2. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead by folding far edge towards you, then pushing it firmly away with heel of hand. Turn dough a little and repeat. Continue kneading for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic and springs back when you make a dent with a finger.

3. Place dough in a clean, warm, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm, draught-free place for 1-1½ hours (or in a cool place for longer). Test by pushing a finger into dough. If indentation remains, it is ready. Knock back dough by punching with your fist several times, squeezing out any large bubbles. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead three or four times.

4. Preheat oven to 240ºC or 220ºC fan. Lightly oil a 12 x 23cm loaf pan. Pat dough into a round and fold sides under to form a neat oblong. Place in prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a cloth and leave in a warm place until risen to top of pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn pan around, reduce heat to 220ºC or 200ºC fan and bake another 20-25 minutes, until golden brown all over and bread sounds hollow when underside is tapped with knuckles.

Tips:

• Make a Walnut Bread for serving with cheese at a special dinner or picnic.

• Add 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts to basic bread dough when you start the first kneading. Top bread with another ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts before baking.

• For a crisp crust all over, take bread out of pan and bake directly on oven bars for last 10 minutes. Bread is cooked if it sounds hollow when underside is knocked with the knuckles. If not, return to oven for more baking. Turn bread out of pan as soon as it comes from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

• More water is needed when wholemeal flour is used.

• You can add up to half wholemeal to half plain flour if you like a denser loaf of bread. Bread flour (from good health-food stores) is best because of its high gluten content, but you will still get good results with ordinary plain flour.

• It is best not to double the quantities to make two loaves because it can be too unwieldy to knead. However, it’s a great idea to make two lots while you’re in the mood and pop one loaf in the freezer for another day.