As this technological age advances on, it's good to know that some of the best things in life are the simple ones. And making homemade bread is very simple. No gadgets, no wizadry, nothing's needed but a few simple ingredients, and a little time and patience (patience, of course, being one of the aspects of living in today's modern world that's perhaps too often missing). And that's the beauty of making homemade bread: producing a healthy and nutritious staple of the average westerner's diet at very little cost and with such a simple process.
What you need to make homemade bread is a good strong flour, yeast, and a little oil; and in terms of apparatus, apart from an oven, just a bowl for mixing (although some recipes don't even call for this, you just mix the ingredients together on a clean counter-top), and a baking tray. What you will need however, if you're going to bake bread the "old-fashioned" way (i.e. without the use of any wizadry such as a bread-making machine), is a little bit of effort. Effort is required to knead the dough to a silky and elastic texture. You also need patience to let the dough "prove" (rise). The number one problem that would-be breadmakers experience is their dough not rising. There are countless ways to get dough to rise including placing it on the stove while something's cooking in the oven. However, providing you let your dough prove somewhere warm, then it should rise. Also ensure that the yeast you're using is still active; check the expiry date on the packet.
The following recipe makes one basic white loaf:
500g strong white bread flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
1 tsp fine salt
7g sachet of dry active yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
Sift the flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in the yeast. Make a well in the center and gradually mix in 300ml warm water and the oil until the dough comes together, use a little more water if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter-top and knead for about ten minutes. When kneading the dough, gently stretch it without actually tearing it and push it back down with the lower part of your palm, turning the entire ball of dough as you do it. When the dough feels springy and elastic put it in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and place it somewhere warm (it should take about one hour to rise). Once it's risen, place the dough back on to the floured counter-top and punch it to get the gas out of it. Knead it again for a few minutes then shape it into a football and make deep slashes in the top with a sharp knife. Dust with a little flour, place on an oiled baking tray and leave to prove once again for about an hour. Once doubled in size, place the loaf in an oven set at 220C/fan 200/gas mark 7 for about 25 minutes. To test if it's ready to come out of the oven, tap the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow.
A variation on this basic loaf is fig and walnut bread (or you can use any combination of dried fruit and nuts such as dates or raisins and almonds or walnuts). The following recipe makes two loaves:
850g strong white bread flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
7g sachet of dry active yeast
2tsp fine salt
450ml milk
100ml water
60g unsalted butter
2tbsp honey
150g dried fruit
150g chopped nuts
Combine flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Gently heat milk, water, butter and honey in a saucepan, allowing the butter to melt; add to the flour. Mix with your hands to form a rough dough then turn out onto a floured counter-top and knead for about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, dust with flour, and place in a bowl covered with a damp towel or plastic bag and put somewhere warm for about one hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Once risen, turn the dough out onto a floured counter-top and press into a rectangle. Scatter fruit and nuts in the dough and roll it up sausage-like. Knead until the fruit and nuts are distributed throughout the dough. Divide the dough into two and form each into a loaf shape. Lightly dust with flour and leave to rise again until almost doubled in size. To get a nice crust on your bread, turn your oven to its highest setting, place a baking tray in the oven, and boil a kettle of water. Once the water's boiled, place your loaves on the baking tray; pour the boiled water into a roasting tin and place this at the bottom of your oven. After ten minutes, turn the oven setting down to 190C/375F/gas mark 5 and bake for a further 20 to 30 minutes. And don't forget to breathe in deeply and smell the wonderful aroma filling up your kitchen!
source: channel4.com
guardian.co.uk