Use Your Loaf: How to bake bread at home and get perfect results (6 page)

This
is my quick to read recipe for your basic loaf. If you want to delve deeper
please read the information on the previous pages. I have also written this as
a chart (pg. 38) if you prefer to work from a chart. This basic recipe can be
adapted to make pretty much any standard loaf using a variety of different
flours and adding whatever extras that you have to hand.

Ingredients
(for 2 large or 3 small loaves)

1kg/2lb
3oz strong bread flour (white, brown, wholemeal, granary, spelt etc)

20g/0.7oz
table/sea salt

10g/0.35oz
yeast

600ml/20fl
oz warm liquid (water, milk apple juice, cider etc)

Optional ingredients

1-2 handfuls of dried fruit, nuts or
seeds, olives, sundried tomatoes, fried onions, herbs etc

A piece of old dough

1tbsp oil or fat (olive/sunflower
oil, melted butter)

Seeds for coating

Grated cheese for topping

Combine
the flour, yeast, salt and water in a large bowl to form a soft dough, then add
the oil. I prefer to knead by hand so tip the dough onto a floured work surface
and flour your hands and knead till smooth and silky. This will roughly
take 7-14 minutes. If you struggle you can use a food processor with a dough
hook, mixing on slow speed for about 10 minutes. If you are adding any extras
such as nuts, fruit, olives etc, after the dough is kneaded flatten it out and
pour your extras over the dough. Roll the dough up and knead for another minute
to evenly distribute the extras in the dough – this can get a bit messy
depending on your extras!

When
the dough has been sufficiently kneaded, shape into a round, coat with a little
oil, cover and leave to rise till doubled in size. This will take around 40-60
minutes.

When
it has risen, tip out and deflate the dough by gently pressing it with your
fingertips. Form it into a round again. You may wish to leave it to rise again
but I usually don’t. This shaping is to let the dough relax so it is easier to
shape. Leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes

It
is also a good idea to preheat your oven now to 250
⁰
C/450
^o
F
with a roasting tin or Pyrex dish on the bottom.

Divide
the dough into 2-3 equal sizes and shape the loaves as required. If you wish to
coat them in seeds spray them with a little oil and roll them in your coating
mix.

Leave
the loaves to prove for a final time until they are almost double in size,
usually 20-45minutes.

When
the loaves are ready for baking slash the tops and spray with a little water.
Top with grated cheese if required. Boil the kettle then place the loaves in
the oven and pour a little of the boiled water into the roasting tin/Pyrex
dish. This produces a burst of steam.

Bake
for 10 minutes at 250
⁰
C/450
^o
F/Gas Mark 9, then
reduce the heat to 200
⁰
C/400
^o
F/ Gas Mark 6 if
still pale or 180
⁰
C/350
^o
F/Gas Mark 4 if noticeably
browning and bake for another 25-30 minutes. When it is ready remove from the
oven and tap the bottom – it should sound hollow. If not, return to the oven
for another 5-10 minutes.

Leave
the bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing, then enjoy…

This
is my quick to read recipe for your basic sourdough loaf. As with the basic
loaf recipe I have also written this as a chart (pg. 41) if you prefer to work
from a chart. This basic recipe can be adapted to make pretty much any standard
sourdough loaf using a variety of different flours and adding whatever extras
that you have to hand.

Sourdough bread is
made using the “sponge method.” This recipe will make 2-3 decent sized loaves.

Ingredients

For
the
sponge:                                             

500g/1lb 1oz strong
bread flour                       

600ml/20fl oz warm
water                              

1 Ladleful of very
active starter

For the dough:

600g/1lb 5oz strong
wholemeal flour

25g/0.9oz salt

Optional ingredients

1-2 handfuls of dried fruit, nuts or
seeds, olives, sundried tomatoes, fried onions, herbs etc

1tbsp oil or fat (olive/sunflower
oil, melted butter)

Seeds for coating

Grated cheese for topping

Make
your sponge the night before. Mix all the sponge ingredients in a large bowl
till it forms a smooth batter like consistency and leave in a warm place
overnight.

The
following day, mix the 600g/1lb 5oz flour and salt into your sponge mixture
till you get a nice soft kneadable dough – you may need to add a bit extra
flour or water to achieve this. Now knead the dough for 5-10 minutes to develop
the gluten. If you are adding any extras such as nuts, fruit, olives etc, after
the dough is kneaded flatten it out and pour your extras over the dough. Roll
the dough up and knead for another minute to evenly distribute the extras in
the dough – this can get a bit messy depending on your extras!

Shape
the dough into a tight round shape, dust with flour or spray with a little oil
and place in a clean bowl. Cover with a plastic bag or cling film and leave to
rise for an hour. After an hour remove from the bowl and shape into a round
again – it may not have risen much at this point but don’t worry. Leave to rise
for another hour and shape again. Repeat the shape and rise again; you will
notice that the dough will become increasingly light and airy.

After
the final rise, deflate (or “knock back”) the dough, and divide the dough into
2 or 3 and shape your loaves as required. If you wish to coat them in seeds
spray them with a little oil and roll them in your coating mix. Dust them
liberally with flour, cover and leave to prove till they have doubled in size.
This may take up to 4 hours depending on the temperature and the vigour of your
starter.

When
your loaves have almost doubled in size, preheat your oven to 250
⁰
C/450
^o
F/Gas
Mark 9 and place your heaviest roasting tray or a Pyrex dish in the oven to
heat up.

When
the loaves are ready for baking slash the tops and spray with a little water.
Top with grated cheese if required. Boil the kettle then place the loaves in the
oven and pour a little of the boiled water into the roasting tin/Pyrex dish or toss
a handful of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven. This produces a burst of
steam.

Bake
for 10 minutes at 250
⁰
C/450
^o
F/Gas Mark 9, then
reduce the heat to 200
⁰
C/400
^o
F/Gas Mark 6   if
still pale or 180
⁰
C/350
^o
F/Gas Mark 4  if
noticeably browning and bake for another 25-30 minutes. When it is ready remove
from the oven and tap the bottom – it should sound hollow. If not, return to
the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Leave
the bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing. This is a real artisan
bread so if you do bake this, you should take great pride in doing so and enjoy
the fruits of your labour.

Good
bagels are slightly sweet, a little chewy and have a soft, shiny crust. One of
the strange things about making bagels is that you poach them before baking,
but they are absolutely delicious.

Ingredients
(
makes 12 bagels):

 500g/1lb
1oz Strong white bread flour

5g/0.2oz/1tsp
“quick” dried yeast

10g/0.35oz/2tsp
salt

250ml/8.8fl oz
warm water

20g/0.7oz sugar

50ml/1.8fl oz.
sunflower oil

To glaze
:

1 beaten egg

(Optional) Poppy
or sesame seeds

Optional ingredients

Raisins

Ground cinnamon

Mix
all the ingredients in a large bowl to form a dough and knead for 5-10 minutes.
Shape into a round and coat with a little oil. Wipe out the bowl and place the
dough into it. Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a
warm area till doubled in size (approx 45 – 60 minutes).

When
the dough has risen, deflate it and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each
on out into a sausage shape. Wet the ends with a little water and press them
together to form a ring. Cover and leave to prove for 20 – 30 minutes on a
lightly oiled board – do not place on floured boards. Preheat your oven to 200
^o
C/400
ºF/Gas Mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to the boil – make sure that the pan
is deep; you need the water to be at least 10cm deep. Lightly oil a couple
baking trays.

Turn
the water down to a simmer when the bagels have finished proving.  Place
as many bagels as you can into the water (remember to leave them room to
expand). Poach for a minute each side and then drain on a clean tea towel. When
drained, place the bagels on the oiled trays and brush with the beaten egg and
sprinkle with seeds (optional). You may have to stick some of them back
together if they become uncurled. Bake in the middle of your preheated oven for
about 15 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave
to cool on a wire rack – if you can!