Bread

Bread making is one of the most satisfying things you can ever do. It makes you feel absurdly capable, as if you are somehow a great provider of marvelous things in life. I wonder if professional bakers would agree. I have a feeling starting work at 1am would take the shine of the feeling a little. Still, to make bread with your own hands is truly wonderful. I think this has a lot to do with the use of yeast. I think there's something quite magical about yeast. Of course I know its cold logical science, which I'm not going to go into here for fear of showing how little I was listening in biology, but there is something almost miraculous about it. The idea of cooking with something living is, to me, very appealing. And because I love it so much, and possibly because I'm a wee bit touched, I do tend to talk to bread dough. In fact I have a habit of talking to inanimate objects that I love. Courgettes often get whole conversations from me, admittedly a little one sided. Anyway, bread. Bread combines all the best bits about cooking: chemistry, nourishment and sensuality. Bread is a touchy feely affair, and often you can't describe to someone how you know the bread is kneaded enough, it's just about learning the dough. Although my mother did once helpfully explain that dough that is ready to be proved should feel like a milking breast. This is not a suggestion to go and grope lactating mothers. However should the opportunity arise it may be an interesting comparison. In this recipe I use a sachet of dried yeast, but not the fast acting stuff which I believe is better used for bread making machines. If you want to use fresh yeast and can actually get hold of some, then use twice the weight. And no I haven't picked a purposefully pernickety weight, it's how much the sachets weigh.

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour

7g dried yeast (15g fresh)

300ml warm water

1tsp salt

Olive oil

Put the flour and add the yeast and salt, though keep them apart as salt in high concentrations can kill yeast. Add two thirds of your water and using your hands mix it together, but be prepared to add the whole lot. You want a sticky, wet-ish dough otherwise your finished bread will stale in about 47 seconds. Once all the dry flour is combined and its coming together in to a single lump, put the dough on to a clean surface. It doesn't need to be floured, but if you feel safer with a floured surface, who am I to judge? Now we get to knead, which is truly fab to do, but quite difficult to explain. Using the heal of your hand, push the dough away from you then bring it back with your finger tips. I tend to turn the dough 90° so you don't get too sausagey a shape. You need to do this for at least 10 minutes. You will feel the dough change in your hands and what you are looking for is a silky smooth texture. And it should smell yeasty as well, as the kneading starts to activate it I'm sure. Being punched for 10 minutes would wake anyone up.

Put the dough in to a clean bowl which has had some olive oil rubbed onto the surface to prevent sticking. Cover with cling film and leave to prove (rise) for 1.5-2 hours in a warm place, making sure it has doubled in size. You can leave it to prove in the fridge for 12 hours. This, I'm told makes great bread, the long process meaning that the gluten chains are very stretched out. However I'm not a patient enough person to make the dough in the evening, leave it to prove over night and then cook it in the morning. Nor am I organized enough. So, once your dough is double the original size, we need to knock it back. This means very gently punching it (honestly) and making it deflate. You then give it another minute or so of kneading, then prepare it for baking.

Preheat your oven to 220°C/430°F/Gas mark 7. Place your dough in a rounded shape on a baking sheet or in a loaf tin (1 lb tin) and cover with a clean tea towel or cling film leave to prove again for half an hour. Once this is done, it should have double in size again. Cook for 35-40 minutes until ready. To test this, lift the loaf and knock the bottom with your knuckles. It should sound hollow, if it doesn't, put it back in for 10-15 minutes. If you were using a tin, this extra bake can be done without it.

Et voila! You have bread. Eat it with whatever you want, I'm not about to give serving suggestions for it! I am told that hot bread gives you indigestion but I think this was my mother stopping us from inhaling the loaf she had just made.