PLAIN AND SIMPLE WHITE BREAD
- 1 lb 8 oz (700 g) strong white bread flour, plus a little extra for the top of the bread
- 1 level tablespoon salt, or less, according to taste
- 1 level teaspoon easy-blend dried yeast
- 1 level teaspoon golden caster sugar (gewone is ook goed)
- about 15 fl oz (425 ml) hand-hot water
Pre-heat the oven to its lowest setting.
You will also need two 1 lb (450 g) loaf tins or one 2 lb (900 g) loaf tin, well buttered.
My pan was 30 x 11 x 7½ cm.
Begin by warming the flour in the oven for about 10 minutes, then turn the oven off.
Sift the flour, salt, yeast and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the center of the mixture, then add the water.
Now mix to a dough, starting off with a wooden spoon and using your hands in the final stages of mixing, adding a spot more water if there are any dry bits. Wipe the bowl clean with the dough and transfer it to a flat work surface (you may not need to flour this).
Knead the dough for 3 minutes or until it develops a sheen and blisters under the surface (it should also be springy and elastic). You can now either return the dough to the mixing bowl or transfer it to a clean bowl; either way, cover it with clingfilm that has been lightly oiled on the side that is facing the dough. Leave it until it looks as though it has doubled in bulk, which will be about 2 hours at room temperature. (Ek knie my deeg in my Kenwood)
After that, knock the air out, then knead again for 2 minutes. Now divide the dough in half, pat each piece out to an oblong, then fold one end into the center and the other in on top. Put each one into a buttered tin, sprinkle each with a dusting of flour, then place them side by side in an oiled polythene bag until the dough rises above the tops of the tins – this time about an hour at room temperature. Alternatively, place all the dough in the one tin. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 8, 450°F (230°C).
Bake the loaves on the center shelf for 30 – 40 minutes, or 35 – 45 minutes for the large loaf, until they sound hollow when their bases are tapped. Now return them, out of their tins, upside-down to the oven to crisp the base and side crust for about 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
*White bread using the processor*
Although making bread as above is not hard, it can be even easier if you make the whole thing in a processor. To do this you fit the dough hook on to the processor (some also have a special bowl), then all you do is sift the dry ingredients into the bowl, put the lid on and switch it on to a low speed or the one recommended in the manufacturer’s handbook for use of the dough hook. Now pour the water through the feeding tube, then leave the processor to ‘knead’ the dough for about 3 minutes – but don’t go away, because the machine can sometimes stick and slide about. Then transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover it with clingfilm that has been lightly oiled on the side facing the dough. Leave it until it looks as though it has doubled in bulk – about 2 hours at room temperature. You can now return the dough to the food processor and let it ‘knead’ it again for 1 minute, still at a low speed. Then simply continue to make the loaves as above.
Photo: Wilanda Räsänen
