Draw a crazy picture
— Shel Silverstein
I've got a love hate relationship with kitchens. I suppose it depends on my mood. Before I got a dishwasher, I hated cooking because it meant washing the dishes and that's one thing that I hated back in the day. I think with age and maturity and having done much worse things, I now don't mind so much.
But boy, do I love to make a mess when I bake. I get covered in flour and I like to get my hands full of dough when I make bread...because good bread needs a LOT of kneading. If you skimp on the kneading, your bread will suck. I've become quite a master at baking bread and have made many a loaf that melted in my mouth with butter to boot. It gives me a big kick when that bread that you baked with love makes your whole house smell divine, homely and welcoming. There's a reason that estate agents recommend baking bread or cookies in your oven before having a house showing and I'm almost sure that it sealed the deal on the first house that I sold at full asking price. Tricks of the trade.
Baking with good music is a thing. If you choose the right songs then your time becomes a labour of love and in no time, you have that dough working like putty between your fingers. It's a beautiful transitionary process.
So my go to recipe for bread is this basic recipe that I then change as I feel fit. Bread is pretty versatile and you can substitute different flour if you want a brown bread as opposed to white bread, add seeds, raisins, whatever you feel like and the chances are that it'll come out great. In this particular instance I substituted half of the white flour with brown bread flour.
Add 210ml warm water to a bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey and 1 to 1 and a quarter teaspoons of instant yeast or active dry yeast. Stir these so they are nicely combined. Do not use boiling hot kettle water or you'll kill the yeast.
Add in 3 tablespoons of softened butter and then slowly add 2 and three quarter cups of flour. Combine and mix the ingredients to create a shaggy dough.
Knead the dough until it passes the window pane test. This seems to take forever and is a lot easier if you're using a stand mixer but I always do this with my hands.
If you can stretch the dough without it breaking to form what looks like a window pane, then your strands of gluten have been kneaded enough. If your dough seems to break apart then keep cruising with the kneading until it passes. This will normally take about 7 minutes of active kneading. Then cover the dough for 10 minutes to rest - it will give the strands of gluten some more time to develop. Knead it again after this for 2 to 3 minutes and you should be able to feel the difference in the consistency of the dough.
Once your dough passes this simple test, it means that it's ready to rise. Whoo hooo.
Check your dough is springy if you poke it and if it bounces back, then you're all set for the first proofing.
Spread a teaspoon of oil around a clean glass bowl, put the ball of dough in and cover it with clingfilm. Leave it in a warm place for 2 hours. When you come back it will be twice the size and you'll be excited to see it. Trust me.
Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Flour up those fingers and fold the dough over itself in thirds, then roll it with a rolling pin to get rid of any air pockets. Air pockets will make big holes in your bread.
Depending if you're using a round dish or a bread tin...
For a round dish, pull the dough into a round shape and then pull the outer edges towards the middle of the ball. This will then create surface tension on the other side of the bread ball.
For a rectangular bread tin, roll the dough up like a swiss roll and pull the dough along the work surface to create tension on the top. This will give it a beautifully rounded top when it rises.
Place your dough into the dish you will be cooking it in. It is ready for it's final proofing. Cover it with clingfilm to keep the moisture in and then with a dishtowel. Place it in a warm place for an hour.
Once it's completed it's final rise and you're smiling at your bread dough like a silly idiot (well I know I do this...maybe you won't) you can remove the clingfilm and place it in the preheated oven. Bake it at 180*C for 30 to 40 minutes.
I always add an ovenproof dish of water below my bread while baking. This adds moisture to the baking environment and ensures that the bread doesn't dry out too much.
To get a beautiful golden top, 5 minutes before it is ready you can add a light brushing of oil or butter over the top of your bread.
Once the bread is out of the oven, remove it from the pan and let it steam for a while uncovered (this will reduce the amount of moisture trapped in your bread and it won't be soggy), then to soften up the crust at the top, smear a generous helping of butter over it and let it dissolve into the bread top. This part makes a huge difference so don't forget it.
Slice and enjoy with your family or gift it to a friend or neighbour. I guarantee you they will love it.
All images are my own of bread I baked and ate on my own
