I love bread, and I especially love fresh bread straight from the oven. I never made bread until about a year ago, I always thought that it was more hassle and more expensive than nipping down the shops. However, since the rise in budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl, you can pick up a 1.5kg bag of strong white flour for about 60-80p and 8 sachets of yeast for 50-70p. This makes it a far more economical option.
The other issue a lot of people have with bread, is the time it takes to make. My recipe is quick and simple, you are only using about 15 minutes of your actual time - the rest is waiting for the bread to rise/bake, and you can get on and do other things in that time!
One of the reasons I prefer homemade bread, is that there is only 5 ingredients; flour, yeast, salt, oil and water... Next time you do your weekly shop and buy a pre-sliced loaf, take a look at the ingredients, and you'll be surprised what goes into some bread! We are all taught that brown bread is better for us, but some people just don't like it, especially kids, so why not make white bread as healthy as possible and make it from scratch.
Ingredients
The other issue a lot of people have with bread, is the time it takes to make. My recipe is quick and simple, you are only using about 15 minutes of your actual time - the rest is waiting for the bread to rise/bake, and you can get on and do other things in that time!
One of the reasons I prefer homemade bread, is that there is only 5 ingredients; flour, yeast, salt, oil and water... Next time you do your weekly shop and buy a pre-sliced loaf, take a look at the ingredients, and you'll be surprised what goes into some bread! We are all taught that brown bread is better for us, but some people just don't like it, especially kids, so why not make white bread as healthy as possible and make it from scratch.
Ingredients
- 500g strong white flour
- 1tsp good quality salt (I use Maldon sea salt flakes, but freshly ground salt is just as good)
- 7g pack of dried easy blend, fast action yeast
- 2tbsp rapeseed oil (other vegetable oils will work, but are often higher in sat fat)
- 320ml room temperature water
Method
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until they have started to combine into a dough.
- Tip the mixture onto a clean, floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and all the ingredients are well combined.
- Put the dough into a bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to proof for an hour.
- Once proofed, put the dough back on the work surface and knead for another 5 minutes, and shape into a rectangle to fit your loaf tin.
- Grease the loaf tin with ½ tsp rapeseed oil.
- Put the dough in the loaf tin, cover with the tea towel and leave for 30-45 mins (or until the dough has risen to the top of the tin)
- Preheat your oven to 220c fan/Gas Mark 7 for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and using an oven glove, hold the tin upside down and remove the loaf from the tin (taking care not to burn yourself). Place on a wire rack to cool slightly, and then serve.
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| This homemade bread, smelt and tasted amazing! |
Tips, tricks and hints
- Tempting as it is, the longer you leave your bread to cool, the easier it will be to slice evenly...
- Don't use grease-proof paper to line your tin - this means the crust doesn't form as well.
- Use a silicone spatula to mix your dough, it sticks less and is easier to clean!
- If you plan on making bread regularly, invest in a good quality, non-stick loaf tin, it makes life so much easier.
- Homemade bread does last for less time because it doesn't have preservatives, but it does freeze well!
- When leaving your bread to cool, cover it with a mesh instead of a tea towel, this will stop the steam from being trapped and making the bread soggy.