White Bread Loaf

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During the lockdown I decided that I would try to learn how to make bread. It seemed daunting, but since I had nothing but time on my hands, I felt up to the challenge. I must admit that I had long felt super intimidated by the whole idea until a friend started making her own baguettes at home. Seeing her do it made me want to try, so I did and honestly – it’s not so difficult. You just need to follow instructions, but I had literally worked myself up over nothing. The trickiest part of it is balancing the time, but baking bread is totally doable! Bread dough needs to prove (aka rise) and it needs time to do so. So while the actual time spent on the business of making this bread recipe is around half an hour, the best advice I can give you for being successful with it is to do this when you’re going to be at home for several hours. I like to do this when I’m working from home and I like to start in the morning. For me it’s easier this way and I can make sure I have a bread loaf out of the oven with plenty of time to cool. I can take my time and I don’t have to rush. Rushing can lead to mistakes and having a dough that doesn’t rise is deflating, literally. Once you get used to it and you’ve successfully managed it several times, you can start multitasking a bit more, but make things easy on yourself if you’re trying this for the first time and just stay home during the process. Set timers and pay attention to the directions and I’m sure you’re going to be successful in your bread-making adventure!

It may seem like it’s just so easy to go buy bread and it certainly is, but I’ve found that there’s some rewarding satisfaction in making your own. It also tastes great and in the end, I believe it to be cheaper, but it would depend on whether or not you used up all your ingredients and what kind of bread you normally buy. I try to make bread as often as I can. We primarily use it for toast, either in the morning or a homemade garlic toast in the evenings and sandwiches. It makes a great gift as well. When our loaf at home approaches the end, I usually slice it, toast it and grind up the toasted slices in a food processor to make bread crumbs. I then freeze the bread crumbs in a plastic bag and keep them for future recipes. Waste not, want not.

What do I need to make bread?

Aside from the ingredients (see list below) you will find that this works easiest with a few essentials, but if I’m honest, you don’t really need anything. Remember: our ancestors made all of their bread and without any special kitchen gadgets, some of them without electricity. So you can do this! But here is a list of things that will make it a bit easier for you.

• Loaf Tin – You can buy these just about anywhere that sells cookware and for relatively cheaply. You don’t have to have a loaf pan to make bread, but it will make it easier to get the shape and overall it will make the process of this particular recipe a bit less messy. You can also use it to make loaf cakes later, banana bread and all sorts of things, so it’s worth the minimal investment. The one I use is this 2lb Loaf Tin that I purchased from Amazon. I would suggest using metal rather than silicon, but that’s only because that’s what I know works and I can’t vouch for the other.
• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer With Dough Hook Attachment – Either one will work, but I will tell you from experience that using a hand mixer is more challenging. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, making bread is super easy work. You can walk away from it while it kneads, which if you’re busy is so valuable. If you don’t have either, kneading by hand doesn’t take too long and while it’s a little bit messier, it’s a great, free workout for your arms & chest – you might actually feel it the next day. Mixers are available at a wide range of price points although stand mixers are significantly more expensive. I have and use both for this recipe and I can highly recommend the Kitchenaid 9 Speed Hand Mixer or if you’re up for the splurge, I more often than not use this Kitchenaid Stand Mixer which is definitely an investment, but can be used for so many things. I use mine on average more than 3 times a week and sometimes it’s more like 3 times a day.
• Strong White Bread Flour – You will find this in the ingredients list, but it’s worth mentioning here too because it’s a key to your success as a bread maker. It’s different than regular flour in that it’s made from harder wheat varieties, has a higher protein content and contains more gluten, which makes it perfect for bread dough which needs to stretch, rise and expand. Regular flour will not behave in the same way. Likewise, bread flour is not the best for cake making. While you can substitute one for the other, it will change the result and might be manipulated by adding more water for example, but unless you’re experienced enough to know how to do this properly it’s best to just make sure you’ve got the right flour for the job. I bought 1.5kg of strong white bread flour for £2 yesterday and I’ve seen it as cheap as £1.40, so it’s not terribly expensive. I would suggest you buy the best you can afford though – they are not all created equal.
• A Tea Towel & Large Plastic Container – A linen tea towel is preferable. The best way to store your bread after it cools is wrapped in a tea towel and placed inside a box that seals, like a tupperware container. You can buy these things pretty much anywhere, but I find them regularly at a great price in places like T.K. Maxx. If you don’t have a large enough sealed container, not to worry. A very large ziplock freezer bag or something similar will work. The tea towel is important though so don’t skip this step. And if you’re gifting your bread loaf, you can give it in a pretty new tea towel as part of the gift.

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Ingredients

• 300ml warm water
• 2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 450g strong white bread flour (plus extra for dusting if you’re kneading by hand)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 generous teaspoon sea salt flakes
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Method

1. Leave the warm water in the measuring jug you used to measure it out and add the yeast & sugar. Stir to combine with a small whisk or a fork. Leave it for around 5 minutes. It should froth a little – nothing major, but you should see at least a little activity along the surface of it, a bit like the head on a pint of beer, but not as thick. If it doesn’t froth at all, you might need to replace your yeast or use another packet as it may be too old or inactive for some reason.
2. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer with a dough hook attachment if you’re using one, add the flour, olive oil and salt along with the yeast mixture. If you’re using a mixer of some kind, mix this all together until well combined and then set a timer for 10 minutes from that point for the kneading. If you’re working by hand, coat your hands with flour and mix the ingredients together by hand until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and start to knead, coating the mixture and your hands as much as necessary for about 15 minutes or until you have a dough that stretchy, smooth and has a bit of spring in it.
3. Put your dough into a bowl (or leave it in the same bowl if you used a mixer) and cover it with cling film. Leave the dough to rise in a warm spot for about 90 minutes. When the dough has proved, it should have doubled in size.
4. Once your dough has risen, uncover it, flour your hands and punch it to deflate it. If you don’t flour your hands they will likely stick to the dough and it’s gonna be a little messy, but it won’t ruin anything. Transfer the dough to your loaf tin. I find a rubber spatula helps with this job as the dough is quite sticky if you’ve used a stand mixer. Cover the tin with cling film that you’ve oiled or sprayed with non-stick spray and leave to rise for a second time for about 40 minutes.
5. Wait about 20 minutes and then preheat your oven to 200°C / 180° fan / 400°F.
6. Remove the cling film – it might stick a little, but just give it a tug. Sprinkle the loaf with sesame seeds if you’re using them and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.
7. You can test if your loaf is done by carefully removing it from the tin as soon as you take it out of the oven and flicking on the bottom. Just tip it out with the top of the loaf into the palm of your hand – use a clean tea towel to protect from burning. If it sounds hollow when you flick the bottom, it’s done and you can leave it to cool on a wire rack if you have one. If not, it needs more time in the oven.
8. Once cool, store your loaf unsliced, wrapped in a tea towel inside a sealed container. Slicing as you use it will keep it tidy and fresh.