Delicious served hot out of the oven !It is really satisfying to make your own bread. If you’ve never tried, I urge you to give it a whirl ! It may seem quite daunting at first .. but what’s the worst thing that could happen ?
I find it therapeutic and rewarding to knead bread dough (granted, I’m sometimes a little bit odd !) … there’s just something about creating a loaf of bread from a few simple ingredients that I can’t quite explain ?
My basic bread dough recipe comes from the South African “Woman’s Value” magazine of August 2000. I first used it when we were living on an even remoter farm than this one (we were there for 3 years before we moved here) where we only got in to town once every 2 months or so – so I had to bake my own bread all the time, else we went without !
This recipe makes 2 small loaves, or 1 small loaf and about 5 rolls and yesterday I made 1 small loaf and used the rest of the dough to make Foccacia bread (pictured) which was delicious ! (For Foccacia instructions, scroll to end of recipe)
Basic White Bread
680 g White Bread Flour (I use whatever flour I can find !)
10 ml salt
1 sachet (10g) instant dried Yeast
30 ml Oil (I use olive, but sunflower is fine)
450 ml lukewarm Water
Place flour, salt & yeast into a bowl. Mix the water & oil together in a jug (Yes, I know they don’t mix … grrrrr … silly recipe writer !). Pour water/oil into flour mixture & mix quickly to form a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured surface & begin kneading. Knead by folding the dough in half towards you, then push down away from you, using the heel of your hand. Give the dough a quarter turn & repeat the process. Knead for 10 minutes until dough is smooth & elastic. Place dough in a large greased bowl & cover with a clean, damp dish cloth. Place in a warm spot & allow to rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.
Then knead dough lightly again for 2 minutes. Press dough out to form a flat shape the length of your baking tin/s & 3 times the width. Fold in edges of the long sides to the centre, then carefully place into the greased baking tin with the join underneath.
Cover again & let rise for another hour until doubled in size. Bake in preheated oven at 220’C/400’F/Gas Mark 6 for 30 – 35 minutes.
For the Foccacia bread I simply spread the dough into a greased baking tray, lightly pressing indentations into it with my fingers as I went along. I then poured some olive oil over it (about 2 tbsps), seasoned it with salt and dried garlic flakes, and poked rosemary into it. This I baked for only 20 – 25 minutes. (It was delicious served with a salad and cold meats for lunch …..)
I find it therapeutic and rewarding to knead bread dough (granted, I’m sometimes a little bit odd !) … there’s just something about creating a loaf of bread from a few simple ingredients that I can’t quite explain ?
My basic bread dough recipe comes from the South African “Woman’s Value” magazine of August 2000. I first used it when we were living on an even remoter farm than this one (we were there for 3 years before we moved here) where we only got in to town once every 2 months or so – so I had to bake my own bread all the time, else we went without !
This recipe makes 2 small loaves, or 1 small loaf and about 5 rolls and yesterday I made 1 small loaf and used the rest of the dough to make Foccacia bread (pictured) which was delicious ! (For Foccacia instructions, scroll to end of recipe)
Basic White Bread
680 g White Bread Flour (I use whatever flour I can find !)
10 ml salt
1 sachet (10g) instant dried Yeast
30 ml Oil (I use olive, but sunflower is fine)
450 ml lukewarm Water
Place flour, salt & yeast into a bowl. Mix the water & oil together in a jug (Yes, I know they don’t mix … grrrrr … silly recipe writer !). Pour water/oil into flour mixture & mix quickly to form a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured surface & begin kneading. Knead by folding the dough in half towards you, then push down away from you, using the heel of your hand. Give the dough a quarter turn & repeat the process. Knead for 10 minutes until dough is smooth & elastic. Place dough in a large greased bowl & cover with a clean, damp dish cloth. Place in a warm spot & allow to rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.
Then knead dough lightly again for 2 minutes. Press dough out to form a flat shape the length of your baking tin/s & 3 times the width. Fold in edges of the long sides to the centre, then carefully place into the greased baking tin with the join underneath.
Cover again & let rise for another hour until doubled in size. Bake in preheated oven at 220’C/400’F/Gas Mark 6 for 30 – 35 minutes.
For the Foccacia bread I simply spread the dough into a greased baking tray, lightly pressing indentations into it with my fingers as I went along. I then poured some olive oil over it (about 2 tbsps), seasoned it with salt and dried garlic flakes, and poked rosemary into it. This I baked for only 20 – 25 minutes. (It was delicious served with a salad and cold meats for lunch …..)
