8-Jan-2014

Bread

The bread you can find in England is toaster bread and for someone who's used to real bread (that actually taste like bread not like cake) this is not acceptable. So, since I moved to England I started helping Mr.Boyfriend to bake our own bread and occasionally I stared baking bread as well. The recipe is as easy as it gets and the results are great. Lets get started!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbs Yeast

1 1/2 tbs Sugar

1 glass lukewarm Water

1 tbs Olive oil

Salt

Flour (we usually mix White flour with some other type - this time with Seed & Grain Wholemeal flour)

How-to:

First thing - you need to activate the yeast. In a bow put the yeast and the sugar, stir and add the water. Put somewhere warm for 10-15 minutes or until the top layer of water is cover in brownish bubbles. It has to look like this: 

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So, when your yeast is ready start adding the flour (pic. 2). Do this gradually, putting small amounts of flour at once so you can actually mix the ingredients (pic. 3). Stir everything with a spoon, do not put your hands in it at this point. The mixture would look more like a batter than like a dough (pic. 4).

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Then add more flour and keep stirring until your bread starts to look like the picture above (pic. 5). Then is time to, literally, get your hands dirty and to start kneading (pic. 6). Keep adding flour until the dough is not soft but not hard either. And it should not be sticky! Place it in oiled and sprinkled with flour bowl or baking pan (pic. 7), cover with clean towel and live somewhere warm (like your heating radiator) for 1 hour to rise. 

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After 1 hour your dough should be double in size (pic. 8).  Take it out of its bowl and knead it again. Knead for several minutes. Oil and sprinkle with flour the baking tray you want to bake it in and place the bread in it. Mix 1tsp vegetable oil with small glass water and cover the upper side of the bread with it (pic. 9). Do not use the whole mixture - you'll need the rest of it later.

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Cut few lines (or X-s) on your bread so the steam from the inside can evaporate easily (pic.10). Place the bread in oven preheated to 180 °C/ Gas Mark 4/ 350 °F and bake for 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes take the bread out, cover it with the water-oil mixture, increase the temperature to 200 °C/ Gas Mark 6/ 600 °F and bake for another 15 minutes.

Take the bread out, remove it from the baking tray and cover with clean towel for 5 minutes. 

And its ready to eat! 

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