Homebaked: White bread

"Give us this day, our daily bread" is something most western Christians will have murmured on a Sunday at some point. It's a statement to the importance of bread as a food source throughout history, perhaps the most important? Nowadays we are so used to sliced white which is a FARCE! Get into the kitchen and fill the house with the smell of baking bread, do you need any more persuasion? Just to prove a point, the taste will be superior and not laced with chemicals.

Simple White loaf

• 1 x 5ml spoon sugar
• 375 ml warm water
• 2 x 5 ml spoons dried yeast
• 600g strong plain flower
• 2 x 5ml spoons of salt
• 15g of fat (lard, butter, oil etc.)

     Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add the dried yeast, leave for 10 minutes or more to activate and become frothy. Sieve the flour and salt into a suitable bowl and rub in the fats. Add the yeast liquid in increments as you may not need the full amount, it is ready when it leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
    
      Flour your work surface lightly and knead the dough, stretching out the gluten until it feels smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl covered with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm spot (It will double in size).

     N.B - You can at this point either knock the dough back (knead it lightly for 5 minutes) and place into a floured tin to rise again before baking, but I like to form it into little baguettes and leave to rise for only a short while before baking as its alot quicker.

    Pre-heat the oven to 220c and place your bread strait in, small baguettes will take around 10-15 minutes and a whole loaf around 40 minutes. They will sound hollow when tapped on the base when ready.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER?