Pigletwillie: bread recipe

Delicious (we hope!) recipes from you the reader!

Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter

Molly
KG Regular
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2005 2:42 pm
Location: Shropshire

Got your request for my bread recipe. Have to rack my brains now, as I don't actually have it written out and I'll need to "visualise" the process I go through in order to write it down...
Sift 1 pound of strong bread flour into a bowl with about a teaspoon of salt. Then tip in one sachet of easy-mix dry yeast granules. Mix it all up and make a well in the centre. Add 2 fl oz olive oil, made up to about 3/4 pint with warm water. Easy-mix yeast doesn't need sugar but I find the dough is lighter if I add half a teaspoonful to the warm water at this stage. Pour the oil & water into the flour all at once (I've found that if I try to mix it in gradually the dough goes lumpy - you can always add a little more flour when kneading if it looks too sticky). Pummel it around in the bowl for about 2 minutes, till it forms a pliable ball. Contrary to what many cookery books tell you, I don't think fighting with the dough for long periods actually adds anything to the lightness of the finished bread - in my experience, it depends on how much rising time you give it. When it's risen, lift the dough out, sprinkle flour all around the inside of the bowl and put the dough back in (the flour helps prevent it sticking as it rises). Cover with a plate and leave it for an hour or two, till doubled in size. If the room is quite cold, you can leave it all day and it won't spoil. Go away, have fun, knock yourself out, don't even think about the bread dough rising away industriously! When it's risen, bash the dough about again to knock the air out, then shape it to fit a large bread tin. Put into the tin, cover with a clean tea towel and forget it for another hour or so, until it rises up past the top of the tin. Bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven (this gets tricky to describe, as my oven has a mind of its own - 160 degrees seems to be best for me, but you need to experiment to suit your own oven). After 30 mins, take the loaf from the tin and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's done. Turn the oven off and return the loaf (out of its tin) for a further 5 minutes. This helps the bottom to crisp up. Cool on a wire rack so the air can circulate underneath (cooling on a solid flat surface makes the crust go soggy). That's it. The process takes about 15 minutes of my attention, the rest of the time it's doing its own thing all by itself. Not even as labour-intensive as walking down to the shop for a loaf!
Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fence post
User avatar
pigletwillie
KG Regular
Posts: 723
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 6:38 pm
Location: Leicestershire

Thanks very much chuck :D

Piglet
Kindest regards Piglet

"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind".
Guest

Just as long as you don't chuck up after eating the bread, you'll be OK petal. :wink:
Molly (couldn't be bothered to sign in today)
Susquehanna

For what it's worth, I always use 3.5 lb of mixed strong flours (white and brown) plus some sunflower seeds, two packets of yeast and 5 flat teaspoons of salt; and I don't bother with the first rise - it rises in the tins with a warm damp cloth spread over them. I get three large loaves of which I freeze two while eating the first. It is easy to undercook these large loaves, and I do return them to the oven, upside down, to crisp up a bit.

I also like to line the greased tins with various seeds, and to brush the top of the unrisen loaf with milk and sprinkle with more seeds. The seeds both taste delicious, and help the loaf to slide out of its tin.

I used to make six large loaves at once every week when my family was at home.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic