Beginner friendly, fool-proof, and ready in under 3 hours.
Quitting my job has given me the time to pick up my hobbies on a more regularly basis than has ever been possible before. And as the resident cake baker in the office, I’ve always been keen to learn how to make more home staples from scratch. The obvious one to start with was bread.
While I’ve now graduated to baking this loaf free-form in a cast iron dutch oven (my Grandma’s Le Creuset casserole dish that has a lid), this loaf works perfectly in a loaf tin allowing you to easily slice it up for sandwiches.
That’s enough yapping from me – I promise I’m never going to post recipes with more than a few sentences about why I love them (no endless scrolling to get to the actual recipe please).
The Ingredients
- 500g strong bread flour
- 7g (1 packet) instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 250 ml warm water
The Method
- Weigh out your flour in a large mixing bowl
- Add your yeast and sugar to one side of the flour, and your salt to the other side. Mix each side before mixing all together.
- Gradually add the water until all the flour has been incorporated.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and kneed the dough for 5 minutes. I like this tutorial that shows you how to kneed.
- Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm spot for 1 hour.
- The dough should have doubled in size by the end of the hour. If it hasn’t, it isn’t warm enough where you have left it so try proving it again, this time in your oven on the lowest temperature.
- Knock the dough back (literally punch it), and kneed for another 5 minutes before folding the sides of the dough in.
- Oil your tin and place the dough inside, covering again to prove while your oven heats up to 220°C
- Bake your bread for 25-30 mins until the crust is golden brown.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 30 mins before turning out to cut!
Notes: For a shiny finish, egg wash your loaf before baking. To bake in a dutch-oven, put your pot in the oven and heat the oven to its highest temperature. Line with baking paper and put your dough in the pot with the lid on. Bake for 25 with the lid on then 5-10 without the lid.
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