With the coronavirus spreading across the globe and a lot of us either having to self-isolate or work from home I’ve been thinking a lot about the basic foods we need. and can easily make at home. I think bread probably heads the top of the list. Humans have been making some form of bread for thousands of years but in the last century or so, as we’ve become numbed by the ease of modernity, we seems to have lost the skill. Bread is so simple to make, with the most basic, inexpensive ingredients and once you master the first, basic loaf, a whole wonderful world of bread opens up in front of you.
My advice for these forthcoming days of isolations is to buy bread flour and yeast. A pack of strong white flour is a good place to start but rye flour, wholemeal flour, any flour to be honest, will keep you alive a lot longer than 48 rolls of toilet paper.
So here’s two recipes for you. I will start with a recipe and method for your basic white loaf and then go on to something slightly more difficult (although hardly mind-stretching) with these yummy cheesy mixed seed buns. They’re pretty easy to follow but should you be more of a visual person, I also have a tutorial on my Instagram profile for you to check out.
A quick FYI – I use my stand-mixer to knead my dough. It makes the whole process slightly easier and I genuinely can’t tell the difference between hand-kneaded and machine kneaded. Plus, since I had a blood clot in my arm from when I was sick a couple of years ago I simply don’t have the strength to knead with that arm for 10 mins. However, kneading on a lightly floured board is just as effective and very simple to do.
for the basic while loaf
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon or 1 x 7g sachet of easy bake yeast / fast-action dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt (I use Maldon or Cornish sea salt flakes)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 300ml water (put 320ml into the measuring jug but don’t use it all in one go)
You will need a large bowl, some clingfilm, some baking parchment and either a loaf tin, a cast-iron dish or an enamelled pie tin (my current favourite bread baking tin.)
Put the dough hook onto your stand mixer. Place all the dry ingredients into the bowl of the stand mixer (or into a large bowl) and then begin to stir together as you add the water. (use the low setting on your stand mixer.) Add 300ml and let the dough hook (or your hand) bring it together. If it still looks and feels a little dry then add a drop or two more water until it all comes together into a ball, then either turn up your stand mixer to a low-to-medium speed, or tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth all over.
Using your hand, oil the inside of a large bowl, then with your oiled hand, remove the dough from the dough hook and place it in the bowl. Cover the bowl in clingfilm and set the bowl aside in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until the dough has risen to double its current size. (An Airing cupboard is a good place for this or on the kitchen surface next to the oven, as long as there’s no draft or it’s not too hot.)
Prepare you baking tin / loaf tin by lining it with baking parchment. I simply cut a length slightly larger than the tin and then scrunch it up so that when I un-scrunch it it will mould itself into the same of the tin. This doesn’t have to be perfectly accurate, the weight of the dough will hold it in place.
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the clingfilm and set this aside, you can knock it back and prepare it for its second rise and then the oven. I do this by oiling a work surface, then I remove the dough from the bowl it’s been rising in and place it on the work surface. Punch it into a rough oblong, then fold the bottom of the dough up to the middle, punching as you do this, then fold the top of the dough down over the dough and punch again. Turn it over and using both hands, shape it into a rough oblong blob, place it into your prepared tin and tuck the edges under itself.
Take the clingfilm you’ve set aside and flatten it out onto the oil still remaining on your work surface, then place it onto the loaf and set aside for 30 minutes. This second rise is essential and is where a lot of bakers go wrong. It makes the bread amazing and light.
Pre-heat your oven to 240C or as high as it will go.
After 30 mins, remove the clingfilm and splash a little cold water over the top of the loaf, then sprinkle some flour on the top and use your hand to smooth the flour over the top.
Slash a long cut down the middle of the loaf, then bake it in the oven for 45 minutes. When it’s ready it should be gloriously dark golden and sound hollow when you tap it. Take it out of the hot tin and let it cool on a wire wrack. You shouldn’t slice it until it’s cool. A minimum of 20 minutes is essential for the bread to form the right structure so it can be sliced.
for the cheesy seed buns
- 200g strong white bread flour
- 100g sting wholemeal bread flour
- 100g rye flour
- 100g oat flour
- 50g strong cheddar cheese – finely grated
- 50g mixed seeds
- 1 teaspoon or 1 x 7g sachet of easy bake yeast / fast-action dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt (I use Maldon or Cornish sea salt flakes)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 300ml water (put 320ml into the measuring jug but don’t use it all in one go)
I’m using a mix of flours for this to add a different texture and taste but any flour will work or any combinations. Use whatever you like, or whatever left on the shelves in the supermarket! You may have to use less or more water as different flours absorb water in different measures, so add the 300ml to start and then see if it needs more. If it gets too sloppy you can always add a tablespoon of flour before you begin the big knead.
The method is exactly the same as above. All the ingredients go in together at the start.
To make the rolls, once the dough has had it’s first big rise, oil your work surface and knock back and knead as above but then split the dough into 8. Then roll these into rough ball shapes and place them into 2 rows of four on a baking sheet or shallow baking tray lined with parchment.
Sprinkle the top with water, then with cheese and a little seeds. Bake for 30 mins on 240C
Eat and of course, enjoy!