This weekend, I was feeling brave. Not bungy-jumping brave, or get-a-tattoo brave. No, something much closer to home - I was feeling bake-with-yeast brave.
I have had a long-standing fear of yeast. The simple unpredictability of it all. Give me a souffle any day - but keep your single-celled raising agents to yourself. However, this weekend I stumble across NoMU's Best Dressed Sandwich - and I thought : "how much nicer would this be with homemade bread?". Thankfully, NoMU took care of this for me as well. I have their Recipe Box - and have stuck a few recipe cards on my kitchen wall as 'functional kitchen art' - leafing through the box, I also found a recipe for Farm Style Bread. Off I set on my bread adventure.
Everything was smooth sailing - until I had to wait for the dough to rise. The single moment where everything could go wrong. After forcing myself not to peek, after 45 minutes the dough had risen beautifully and the kitchen was filled with earthy yeastiness. Victory.
I made one full loaf (for sandwiches) then another two smaller breads in my Le Creuset Heart Ramekins. All three breads turned out beautifully - and have perhaps fueled a bread-addiction. All I can think of is 'what's next?'.
Ingredients:
750g bread flour
2 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
400ml tepid water
10g instant yeast
1 egg whisked well with a pinch of salt
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180°C. Place the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low until ingredients are well mixed, then add the olive oil, followed by the water - gradually. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, loosely covered with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. I heated my oven to 70 degrees, turned it off and then placed the bowl in the oven to rise.
Once risen, knead for a few minutes until smooth. Divide the dough into two and place each log into a lightly greased loaf tin. Place back into the oven (or another warm place) to rise for 30 - 40 minutes.
Lightly brush the loaves with egg wash and place into the oven for 45 -60 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
This post was not sponsored or endorsed by NoMU or Le Creuset in any way. All images taken with a Canon EOS 600D from Loot.co.za
0 comments:
Post a Comment