Baking homemade bread needn't be difficult – this simple loaf recipe is easy to follow, uses a handful of ingredients and can be adapted with different flours
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:30 mins
- Cook:35 mins
- Plus 1-2 hrs proving
- Easy
- Makes 1 large loaf
Ingredients
- 500g strong bread flour
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 300ml hand-hot water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp honey
Method
- STEP 1
Tip the flour into a bowl and mix in the yeast with the salt. Stir in the water, oil and honey. Now bring together to make a soft dough – I use my hands, but a wooden spoon or knife from the cutlery drawer is fine. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins. It is worth putting in the time to do this as it will pay off later with lovely airy bread.
- STEP 2
Don’t keep adding flour, a wet dough is better than a dry one, which will bake to a tough texture, so if you don’t like the dough sticking to your hands, lightly oil them. If you are adding flavourings, knead them in gently now.
- STEP 3
Turn the dough into an oiled 1kg bread tin and cover with oiled cling film (or better still, a free unused shower cap from your last hotel stay!). Put in a warm place until the bread fills the tin, it should take between 1-2 hrs.
- STEP 4
Uncover and bake your bread at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 30-35 mins until golden. Tip out of the tin and tap the base of the loaf. It should sound hollow when fully cooked. If not cooked, put loaf back in the oven out of the tin and test again after 10 mins. Cool.
