White Bread Loaf

So today I thought I would put something quite simple up, which is useful for every week. It is a white bread loaf that goes great with an Autumn soup or stew. Bread is something that everyone can and should make themselves at least once in a while. It takes some perfecting according to your taste preference, yet after a few tries you will have nailed it.

Nowadays I think our bread has become far removed from what it once was. The mass produced loaves that you can buy in the supermarket are filled with what seems to be fluffy cloud content. Real bread should be denser and you can dunk it in olive oil or a stew without it disintegrating. 

Near my house is a windmill where they grind their own flour and the selection is endless; white, cornflour, rye, wholewheat and even their own mixes. I'm not expecting that you embark on a long journey to seek out a windmill, but try and find a good quality flour to use. For example, the company below make an organic flour range for Waitrose and still use some traditional milling methods:

http://www.marriagesmillers.co.uk/our_flour/index.html

Ingredients: 

450g white flour, plus extra for dusting

1-1.5 teaspoons of salt

7g of yeast

1 table spoon of good olive oil

300 ml of lukewarm water

In a bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt before adding the olive oil and the warm water. Combine well in order to form a soft dough. 

Flour a surface and then begin to knead the bread for a few minutes, I would say about 5 or more. The dough should feel soft and elastic. It should not be too sticky that it stays on your hands, or too dry that it cracks or crumbles. Add extra water or flour if necessary to achieve the correct consistency. 

Place the dough in a bowl and cover it will a towel or cling-film. Leave the dough in a warm place for an hour and a half. After this it should have grown in size. Take it out of the bowl and shape it into a well greased bread tin. Re-cover and set aside to rise a little while you preheat the oven to 200°C. 

After about 30 minutes, get a sharp knife and softly carve some diagonal lines over the top of the bread (see image). Then place the bread in the oven and bake it for about 30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. It should sound hollow when tapped. Turn it out onto a rack and leave to cool.