Cakes & Bakes: Simple plain white loaf

A good recipe for a simple, plain white loaf is an essential in your home baking repertoire. This is an easy to make, easy to remember recipe – 100% flour, 60% water, 2% salt, 1% dried yeast.

This ratio of ingredients means the quantities can be multiplied easily depending on how many loaves you want to make. Just like a basic sponge cake recipe, it can be adapted to make all manner of variations. I regularly use this recipe as a starting point for other kinds of loaves…

Use half white, half wholemeal flour.
Add mixed seeds & nuts such as poppy, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Add dried fruit such as raisins, currents, sultanas (pre-soaked for a few hours in ) and/or chopped dried figs with a teaspoon of cinnamon and tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.
Simply kneading in a teaspoon of caraway seeds makes one of my favourite loaves!

The quantities below make one, medium-sized loaf.

Simple plain white loaf

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Cook Time 35

Total Time 35

Servings 1 medium loaf

Ingredients

500 g/18oz plain flour
300 ml/10.5 fl oz warm water
10 g/⅓oz salt
5 g/⅙oz active dried yeast

Instructions

sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl
add the yeast to the warm water (no hotter than blood temperature) and mix together
make a well in the dry flour & salt mixture and pour in the water & yeast mix
fold the flour from the edges into the centre of the mixing bowl to combine well
lightly dust a tabletop with flour and knead the dough well for about 10 minutes until smooth
form the dough into a ball and put it back into the mixing bowl
cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or oiled cling film (Saran wrap) - I use a very large, clear plastic bag which I reuse over & over again
leave to prove for 60-90 minutes (depending on the temperature of the room) until the dough has doubled in size
lightly dust a tabletop with flour and knock the dough back and form it into an oblong and put it into a greased 500g/1lb rectangular loaf tin
put the tin back into the bowl and cover again with a damp tea towel or oiled cling film
leave to prove again for 60-90 minutes until the dough has doubled in size
preheat the oven to 240ºC/465ºF/Gas mark 9, put an empty roasting dish on the bottom shelf of the oven and fill a cup with cold water and set aside
when the loaf has proved, use a small serrated knife or grignette to score the top
Quickly & carefully pour the cup of water into the roasting dish before putting the loaf into the oven
After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 200ºC/ 400ºF/Gas mark 6
Bake for a further 20-25 minutes before taking it out of the oven, removing from the tin and tapping on the base. If it sounds hollow it's done
Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least half an hour before use

Cakes & Bakes: Kamut or spelt bread

Although I bake at least one loaf per week, it’s been a while since I did a ‘bready’ Cakes & Bakes post. This spelt bread recipe is from a book we’ve previously reviewed, Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s How to Make Bread.

Owing to the rise in popularity of low-gluten cooking, spelt flour is getting much easier to get hold of – most large supermarkets and independent health food shops now stock it. I have to admit I’d never heard of Kamut prior to baking this loaf.

Kamut or spelt bread

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Ingredients

300 g/2½ cups Kamut khorason flour or (wholegrain) spelt flour
6 g/1 tsp salt
3 g fresh yeast or 2g/¾ tsp dried/active dry yeast
200-230 g/230ml/up to 1 cup warm water

Instructions

In one (smaller) mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt together and set aside. This is the dry mixture
In another (larger) mixing bowl, weigh out the yeast, add the water and stir until the yeast has dissolved. (You will need slightly less water if you're using Kamut flour.) This is the wet mixture
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon and then your hands until they come together to form a dough
Cover with the bowl that had the dry mixture in it and let stand for 10 minutes
Knead the dough as instructed in photos I, J & K in the illustrated page here
Cover the bowl again and let stand for 10 minutes
Repeat steps 5 & 6 twice, then step 5 again. Cover the bowl again and let rise for 1 hour
Punch down the dough with your fist
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour
Remover the dough from the bowl and place it on the floured work surface
Gently flatten into an oval. Fold the right end over into the middle, then the left
Press down slightly to seal the dough together. You will now have a roughly rectangular shape.
Pull & fold the top of the rectangle one third of the way toward the middle, pressing it into the dough
Swivel it 180º and keep folding as in step 13 until you have a shape roughly the size of your loaf pan
Place the dough inside the prepared loaf pan, seam-side down
Cover the loaf pan and let rise until slightly less than double the size - about 30-45 minutes
About halfway through the rising, preheat the oven to 240ºC/450ºF/Gas mark 9. Place a roasting pan at the bottom of the oven to preheat. Fill a cup with water and set aside
When the dough has finished rising, remove the bowl or covering
Place the bread in the preheated oven. Pour the reserved cupful of water carefully onto the hot roasting pan and lower the temperature to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7
Bake for about 35 minutes or until brown
Turn the bread out of the loaf pan and set on a wire rack to cool

Tools: 1 500g/1lb loaf pan (greased with vegetable oil). Graduated mixing bowls (I like to use clear glass bowls so I can keep an eye on where the rise is at). Flexible plastic dough scraper/cutter (optional).

Cakes & Bakes: Fig, walnut and blue cheese loaf

It’s been a while since I shared a bread recipe – this one is for a fig, walnut and blue cheese loaf. It’s a recipe I devised myself and the resulting loaf is a great accompaniment to a cheese board or ploughman’s lunch.

Cakes & Bakes: Fig, walnut and blue cheese loaf

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Servings 1 x 1kg loaf

Ingredients

175 g/6oz sourdough starter recently refreshed
250 g/9oz tepid water
325 g/11½oz strong white flour
75 g/2½oz wholemeal flour
125 g/4½oz figs chopped
50 g/1¾oz chopped walnuts
5 g/1tsp sea salt
50 g/1¾oz blue cheese cubed (something like a Dolcelatte, Gorgonzola or Roquefort)

Instructions

Mix the starter and water in a large mixing bowl
Add the white and wholemeal flours and combine until there are no lumps
Fold in the figs, walnuts and sea salt until mixed evenly throughout the dough
In the bowl, knead the dough gently for 10 seconds
Leave to rest for 10 minutes
Repeat this kneading & resting process another 3 times
Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave the dough in a warm place to prove for an hour and a half to 2 hours
Knock back and fold in the cubed blue cheese until mixed evenly throughout the dough
Shape the dough into an oblong and put it into a 1kg-size banneton
Cover and allow to prove in a warm place for 3-4 hours (I put my banneton into a large plastic bag which I reuse again & again, but you can get special elasticated, washable banneton covers)
20 minutes prior putting the loaf in to bake, preheat the oven to 240ºC/475ºF/Gas mark 9
Put an empty, shallow baking tin onto the bottom shelf of the oven
Fill a cup with water and leave on the side near the oven until you're ready to bake the loaf
When proved, turn the loaf out gently onto a large greased baking tray
Carefully score the top with a few diagonal cuts using a serrated knife or lame
Put the loaf on the top shelf of the oven and carefully pour the cup of water into the baking tray on the lower shelf before closing the oven door
After 10 minutes, turn the oven temperature down to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
Bake the loaf for a further 20-25 minutes
Check that it's done by tapping the underside of the loaf - it should sound hollow
If not, turn the oven off and leave the loaf in for another 5 minutes
Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool on a large wire rack for at least 45 minutes before eating

Shared with…

Cakes & Bakes: Sourdough Focaccia

I hunted around the internet for a sourdough focaccia recipe that I liked the look of and finally came across one on the Grain Mill Wagon blog. It’s easy to prepare, I left the dough to prove overnight in the coldest room in the house then, in the morning, added the toppings and popped it in the oven.

It was lovely teamed with a big green salad, a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping into and glass of wine!

Sourdough Focaccia

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Ingredients

Dough
1½ cups fed & bubbly sourdough starter
¾ cup water
1½ tsp sea salt
1½ tbsp olive oil I used about double this amount as I felt my dough was a bit dry
2½ cups freshly ground flour of your choice plus more
Toppings
sliced tomatoes I omitted this
chopped garlic I used a mini bulb of Italian Malvi Cervati garlic that comes in a woven basket from Lidl - you just thinly slice the bulb - there are no cloves to fiddle with!
chopped fresh herbs I just used sprigs of fresh rosemary
olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
grated cheese optional

Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together sourdough starter, water, sea salt and olive oil
Pour flour onto the wet mixture and stir to incorporate
Continue to add flour little by little until you have a nice, easy kneading consistency. If your dough is too dry, add a little more water
Pull the dough out onto your counter top and knead for a few minutes. You're looking for a soft and smooth (not sticky) dough
Cover your dough with a cloth and allow it to rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes
Generously oil a large rolled cookie sheet or use your pizza stone with parchment paper
Roll out the dough into your desired shape (rectangle or circle)
Gently gather up the rolled dough and transfer it into the cookie sheet or pizza stone
If needed, roll it out some more or use your fingers to spread/stretch the dough to fit the cookie sheet or pizza stone
Cover with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for at least 8 hours
Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C/Gas Mark 8
Brush the dough with olive oil and top it with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, sea salt and black pepper.
Drizzle more olive oil on top
Bake for 15-25 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Slice it up and serve it hot. Enjoy!

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: bread

Cakes & Bakes: Simple plain white loaf

Simple plain white loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Kamut or spelt bread

Kamut or spelt bread

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Fig, walnut and blue cheese loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Fig, walnut and blue cheese loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough Focaccia

Ingredients

Instructions