This is my recipe for a white bread loaf.
Ingredients
- 400g strong white bread flour
- 7g yeast
- 8g salt
- 20g room temperature unsalted butter
- 250ml luke warm water
Method
Pour 400g strong white bread flour into a mixing bowl.
Add 7g yeast, and 8g salt on either side. If they come into contact before
being mixed apparently the salt can kill the yeast.
Add 20g unsalted butter. This should be room temperature to make it easier to
mix and knead.
Start slowly adding the water and mixing the ingredients.
It should start forming a dough.
Once you’ve added enough water the dough should start cleaning the sides of the
bowl.
Place on an oiled surface (excuse the lack of oil in the photo, my hands were
too messy to get a photo before placing the dough on the surface).
Knead the dough with the heel of your hand.
Then roll back the dough into a ball again.
Rotate the dough by 90° and repeat the kneading for about 10 minutes.
When it’s ready the surface should be fairly smooth, and the dough elastic. If
you stretch it out, it should start springing back into shape. Oil the mixing
bowl, and place the dough in there.
Cover it with a tea towel and wait for it to grow to about double it’s size.
This can take a different amount of time based on the temperature and humidity.
Take the dough out of the bowl, hit it and fold it over a few times to knock
out air bubbles.
Shape the dough into a sausage, then roll either end underneath. Place it into
a bread tin.
Cover the whole thing with a plastic bag and leave to prove until it’s a little
higher than the top of the tin. Should take around an hour or so.
Place a dish filled with water in the bottom of the oven and preheat it to
220°C. When it’s ready bake the bread for about 25-30mins, until browned on
top.
Take it out of the oven and leave it to cool. It should sound hollow when
tapped on the bottom.
