Bread is....

This evening I am thinking about bread....glorious wonder food and manna from heaven, having watched Mary Portas try to deliver Maher & Sons from hell el Seventies. I am dumbfounded by the owner's lack of enthusiasm for the staff of life, not to mention her total and utter rudeness, but of that, I will make waste no further time on. Let's all adore the bread.....

And here is my foolproof recipe, completely adaptable to add seeds, herbs, spices, or anything you have to hand...I even use it as a perfect pizza dough.

INGREDIENTS:

500g Strong White Flour (or brown/wholemeal/country grain/seed&grain) - I mix my own :)

2 tsp Salt

7g Sachet of fast action yeast

3 tbsp Olive Oil

300ml Warm water

METHOD:

1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well then tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight.
2. Grease a baking tray (or a loaf tin). Knock back the dough, then gently mould the dough into a ball. Place it on the baking tray or into the loaf tin to prove for a further hour until doubled in size.
3. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. You can dust the loaf with flour or paint it with a little egg white. You can cut crosses along the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, sprinkle it with seeds or leave it plain. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.