Bread Adventures: The recipe

Anne asked me for the recipe I used as the base for my herb bread, so I thought I'd share the story as well as the recipe.

It started out with a simple recipe for a basic white loaf. I had found it last year, tried it a couple of times and was very happy with the results. Then one day I wanted to make the bread and had just started, when I realised that I didn't have enough strong flour. It was either very early or very late, with the shops closed, but I'd already crumbled up the yeast into some sugar water, so I couldn't really stop. So I had a rummage in my cupboard, and luckily I still had some left over extrastrong flour (type 1050) and some wholemeal as well. Together they were just enough to make up the required amount of flour. So I mixed all the flours, then kept going with the original recipe, hoping that it would turn out passably.

Well, the result was not just passably, it was pretty nice. A brown bread that tasted like shop-bought brown toast, only better and more... substantial. I had been looking for this kind of recipe but had found it completely by accident.



Thankfully I remembered how much of each type of flour I had used, and have since also simplified the whole process:

Brown Loaf
(adapted from Rachel Allen, Bake)

• 2 tsp sugar (I tend to use brown rather than caster, but it's a matter of taste and what you happen to have)
• 425ml warm water (you may need more or less depending on how much wholemeal flour you use)
• 2 1/2 tsp dried yeast or 20g fresh yeast
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 750g flour (I use 1 part strong (type 550), one part extra strong (type 1050) and one part wholemeal, but you could go half wholemeal, half plain or strong)
• 2 tsp salt

1. Mix the sugar into the warm water, add the yeast, stir, then add the oil and let stand for a moment while you prepare the rest.
2. Weigh out the flour into a large bowl and stir in the salt.
3. Pour the yeast water into the flour. I usually now stir it in with a spoon until the water is mostly soaked into the dough, then get kneading with my hands.
4. Knead the dough thoroughly to work the gluten, until the dough stops sticking and feels elastic but smooth.
5. Cover and leave to prove for about an hour in a warm spot, or, if you have time, put in the fridge and leave to prove overnight.
6. If the dough has been proving in the fridge, take it out at least half an hour before kneading again, to bring back up to room temperature so it is easier to work. Knead the dough thoroughly, then shape into loaves or rolls and make a deep cut or several slashes across to allow for better rising and a prettier result.
7. Cover and leave to rise again until doubled in size. Again you can either do this somewhere warm or cool.
   
8. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
9. Bake rolls for around 10-15 minutes, loaves for around 30-45, depending on size. Turn the temperature down to 200°C/400°F after 10-15 minutes to keep from browning too much.
10. Tap the base of the bread to check if it's cooked. It should sound hollow when ready.
11. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

If you can, definitely try proving the dough in a cool place overnight. It allows the yeast to work at a slower rate and the bread develops more flavour and keeps better this way.