Baking your own bread is one of the most rewarding things you can do. If you’ve never tried before, or you’re daunted by the prospect of it, please let me assure you that it’s a relatively simple process. You can have a decent loaf of bread from start to finish in two to three hours (depending on the ambient temperature) and for most of that time the bread is simply rising or baking on its own while you get on with other things. We’ve been making all our own bread for years now, and this is where we started (although we’ve since moved to sourdough rather than yeast).
The most important thing to know is this – the quality of your bread and how much it rises is almost completely contingent upon the flour you use. If you can’t get a decent high-protein bread flour, then wait until you can, because if you make bread with plain flour, you’ll be disillusioned and won’t try again. The gluten protein in the flour must be high enough for the yeast to make the bread rise. Fortunately, bread flour, also known as bakers flour, is now readily available in most supermarkets. Here, with lots of photos and videos, is how I make basic yeasted bread. The recipe is based on Richard Bertinet’s olive dough and it’s very versatile – you can shape it into rolls, loaves, epi, stuff it with interesting fillings, or spread it out flat and make pizza (it actually works brilliantly as pizza dough).
- 500g bread or bakers flour
- 10g dried yeast (or one sachet)
- 8g fine sea salt
- 320g water (weigh it if you can, as you’ll get a more accurate result. If not, use 320ml)
- 50g olive oil (I use extra virgin)
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 