Rainy Day Loaf

Hello again!

Well, I'm getting stuck in rightly to the 'Aspirations Baking List'. Today was a wet, windy and dull sod of a day, so I decided to bake some bread, to brighten up the house. Well that, along with brushing and washing the floors, bathing the dog and generally mucking around the house.

Mother has made me hibernate as I have a stinker of virus at the minute; which I can't say is enjoyable. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I don't cope well with nothing to do, or sitting around. Always have to be busy, basically.

I can't remember where on the list bread came, but i'm not one for doing things in order... well sometimes. This loaf recipe is from Paul Hollywood.

I love making this bread, as it is light, airy and just down right yum! It is easy enough to make, well easy enough when the temperature of the oven is right, the day is warm enough and not freezing, the yeast activates well and aerates the bread dough; little things really.

The ingredients that you'll need are very simple and basic. You'll need;

- 500g Strong Bread Flour
- 10g Salt
- 10g Instant Yeast
- 370ml Lukewarm Water

The equipment you'll need, but it's not make or break if you don't have them;

- Stand Mixer; with dough hook attached
- Plastic Tupperware with a lid that seals
- Rectangular bread tin
- Baking dish (one that can be heated to at least 220 C Fan Oven and shocked with cold water) NOT CERAMIC- Stupidly, I've made that mistake
- Cooling rack

But if you don't have all of that, it's really no bother. You can knead the bread by hand, quite often, what i'll do is use the mixer for the first part (a.k.a- the messiest part) and then I'll knead the dough for the last 10-15 minutes. This isn't a scientific move or a calculated one. It is simply that I like the feel of the dough, the elasticity and texture of it. Plus, it's an excuse to muck around.

Instead of the tupperwear, just grease a bowl and put clingfilm or a tea towel on top to seal out the air and keep the bread in a warm place to prove, as this will help the yeast to become active and grow.

You could always bake the bread free-form. Which is baking the bread without putting it into a tin or anything that will force it into a certain shape. You could just dust a baking tray with flour and let it bake that way, you'll probably get a different shape of bread each time- which is rather exciting. Who says your bread has to conform to the normal bread shape, let it free and be the bread that its wants to be.

The baking dish is more important than you might think. I use it to give the bread a crust. One that is crunchy and crispy. This is created by leaving the baking dish on the bottom of the oven when it is preheating and allowing it to get up to the same temperature as the oven itself. Then when the bread is going into the oven to be baked, chuck cold water into the baking dish and this will create steam and give the bread the crust.

The cooling rack isn't so important, it will just allow the whole of the bread to cool evenly. I find that if the bread sits on the tray it was baked on to cool or on the counter, then the butt of it will take longer to cool as it isn't exposed as much to the air like the rest of the bread. It is pressed up against the surface it sits on and will probably take longer to cool. Nothing major though.

To make the bread you want to do the following:

- Measure out all the ingredients into separate bowls and leave aside until needed.

- Get a tupperwear or bowl and grease with a little oil to cover all the surface area that will be in contact with the dough.

- Put the flour and salt into the mixer bowl and combine until thoroughly mixed in.

- Pour the yeast into the warm water and allow to sit for five minutes to warm the yeast up and start the activation process. While the mixer is kneading at a low speed, gradually add the yeast/ water mix until it is all combined and mixed in. This will look rather lumpy and not very appealing in any sense of the word.

- After around two minutes of mixing, increase the speed to really knead the dough and allow it to become more elastic and dough like. You want to mix this until there is next to no dough left on the sides of the bowl. You might get a few wee scraps left, but that doesn't matter.

- This is where I normally take the dough out and start kneading by hand. When it has come together and doesn't stick to the sides, and is stable. By this I mean, the mixture is no longer like a thick batter, but a dough. Still a little sticky, but it is holding its form.

- Lightly flour the surface, if needed and knead the dough by hand. Do this by stretching it length ways and folding it back on itself. Do this until it no longer sticks to your hands and is smooth and elastic looking.

- Pop it into the greased container, cover and leave to prove in a warm place for however long it takes. You want it to increase in size quite considerably. I leave mine until it fills the space left in the tupperwear. Some days it doesn't take long, and others (like today) it does. This wasn't a bad day, temperature and humidity wise, but I needed the heater on to make the room warmer, to allow my dough to rise. This took around 2 and a half hours.

- Once your dough has risen and looks like it is full of air pockets, knock it back. Do this by punching the air out of the dough, returning it to its original size. Take it out of the container that it proved in and set it onto or into the container you are going to bake it on or in.

- You need to leave it to prove a second time. This won't take as long, but you need to allow it time to prove into the shape of the tin or tray you are using. Normally, if it is free form, the dough will prove outwards and become wider. But when it is in a loaf tin, it will prove upwards and become taller.

- At this stage, you want to pre- heat the oven to 220 C Fan Oven and put the baking dish in the bottom of the oven to heat up as well. Once the dough had risen again and the oven has reached the required temperature, you can put the bread in the oven to bake. Pop the bread in and then shut the door. Fill a jug or kettle with cold water and use this to pour the water into the heated baking dish.

Pour it in quickly enough to stop all the oven's heat from escaping, but not so quickly that you end up spilling it all over the oven.

- Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes, or until the bread has expanded, is golden brown on the top and when lifted up and tapped on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Then take the bread out and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

Things you could do with this bread:

1) Toast it and eat with a little butter and/or jam
2) Use it to make sandwiches
3) Slice it up, grate on some cheese, grill and top with caramelised onion
4) Use it to dunk into soup or a boiled egg

Anything you fancy really, it is all about what makes you happy. What makes your taste buds tingle?

That's the bread ticked off the list, but I'll probably be making it again with different methods and ideas, you never know...

I hope you enjoyed this and try this recipe as it is really lovely and fun to make!?

Until next time friends,

Ciara