Baking your first white loaf
Bread needs only a handful of ingredients and some patience. Most of the time is spent waiting while the dough rises, so a first loaf fits easily into a weekend morning, and the smell from the oven makes the wait worthwhile.
Ingredients for one loaf
- 500 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7 g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 300 ml lukewarm water
- 3 tablespoons oil, plus a little extra for the bowl and tin
Mixing and kneading
Put the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast to one side and the salt to the other, as salt in direct contact can slow the yeast down. Add the oil and most of the water, and mix with your hand into a soft, slightly sticky dough, adding the rest of the water if dry flour is left in the bowl. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, stretching and folding, until it feels smooth and springy. Don't taste the raw dough, as raw flour isn't safe to eat until it is baked.
Rising and shaping
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it and leave it somewhere warm until it has doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour, although a cool kitchen can take twice as long. Knock it back by pressing out the air, shape it into a smooth oblong and put it in an oiled 900 g loaf tin. Cover it and leave it to rise again for 30 to 45 minutes.
To tell when the second rise is finished, we use a gentle press we call the fudakupo poke. Flour a fingertip and press it about a centimetre into the side of the dough. If the dent fills back slowly and leaves a slight mark, the loaf is ready to bake. If it springs straight back, give it a little longer.
Baking and cooling
Heat the oven to 220°C, or 200°C for a fan oven, while the dough rises. Bake the loaf for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is deep golden. Using oven gloves, tip it out of the tin and tap the underside: it should sound hollow. If it doesn't, put it back in the oven without the tin for five more minutes. Cool it on a wire rack for at least half an hour before slicing, as the inside is still setting.