How to Make Bread E-Book

Emmanuel Hadjiandreou

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Today, people are rediscovering the joys of baking their own bread, not only as a cost-saving measure, but with the desire to go back to basics and enjoy making something rewarding. Emmanuel Hadjiandreou is passionate about bread and in this, his first book, he shows you how to make it, step by step. The book starts by explaining the key to good bread: why flour, yeast and temperature are important, and which kitchen equipment makes life easier. In Basic Breads, you'll learn how to make a Basic White Loaf with clear, step-by-step photos. With this method, you'll have the base for a number of variations. The rest of the book covers Wheat- or Gluten-free Breads, Sourdoughs, Flavoured Yeasted Breads, and Pastries and Morning Bakes - in more than 60 easy-to-follow recipes. Emmanuel Hadjiandreou has worked for Gordon Ramsay, Flour Power City Bakery, Daylesford Organic and Judges Bakery in Hastings. He currently teaches at The School Of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire. His sourdough bread, stollen and other bread creations have won him several awards.

Leseprobe

LONDON NEW YORK

HOW TO MAKE

BREAD

Step-by-step recipes for yeasted breads, sourdoughs, soda breads and pastries

EMMANUEL HADJIANDREOUphotography by Steve Painter

DEDICATION

For my supportive and loving wife Lisa, my gorgeous boy Noah Elliot and my mum, Elena, who has guided me through my life.

Design, Photographic Art Direction and Prop Styling Steve Painter

Senior Editor Céline Hughes

Production Controller Toby Marshall

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Publishing Director Alison Starling

US Recipe Tester Susan Stuck

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2011

by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

519 Broadway, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10012

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Emmanuel Hadjiandreou 2011

Design and photographs

© Ryland Peters & Small 2011

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

eISBN 978-1-84945-320-3

ISBN 978-1-84975-140-7

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hadjiandreou, Emmanuel.

  How to make bread : step-by-step recipes for yeasted breads, sourdoughs, soda breads and pastries / Emmanuel Hadjiandreou ; photography by Steve Painter.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-84975-140-7

1. Bread. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title.

TX769.H225 2011

641.81’5—dc23

2011025873

Printed and bound in China

Notes

• All spoon measurements are level, unless otherwise specified.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature. Recipes in this book were tested using a fan/convection oven. If using a regular oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting temperatures.

• All eggs are medium, unless otherwise specified. Recipes containing raw or partially cooked egg should not be served to the very young, very old, anyone with a compromised immune system or pregnant women.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE BASICS OF BREAD MAKING

BASICS & OTHER YEASTED BREADS

WHEAT-FREE OR GLUTEN-FREE BREADS

SOURDOUGHS

PASTRIES & SWEET TREATS

SUPPLIERS & STOCKISTS

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

Ever since I can remember, baking has been an important part of my life. There was a great food influence in my life with my father owning and running restaurants with his brother while I was young. This allowed me to be introduced to new and exciting flavours and has helped me to be innovative in my baking now.

Bread is special – from the moment you start mixing the ingredients to the time when you take it out of the oven, tap it on the bottom to check for a hollow sound and then that unmistakable smell that overwhelms you as the baked bread cools. It is quite magical.

I have never tired of making bread. No matter how many loaves I have had to produce or what the challenge has been, I have jumped in with my heart and soul and created each and every loaf with the same amount of passion I would put into creating only one.

After gaining my apprenticeship and qualifications in German-style bakeries in South Africa and Namibia, I worked and travelled with my wife Lisa, building and learning new techniques and recipes in Greece and Germany. I was taught to produce large quantities of bread as well as individual showpieces without sacrificing quality or consistency.

On arriving in the UK, my baking world exploded! I met and worked with incredibly passionate and like-minded artisans. My hunger for learning, developing and creating new loaves took over. I was very fortunate to be able to use the best organic and natural ingredients available and to work in the most wonderful environments.

Through my years of baking and running bakeries, I have had enormous pleasure in introducing apprentices and young bakers to my world of bread and inspiring them to become successful, enthusiastic and knowledgeable bakers. Through teaching, which is what I mostly do now, I get as much joy in seeing my students learn how to achieve a great loaf as I do with baking it myself.

This book is an accumulation of the recipes I have developed through my baking life, so they have been thoroughly tried, tested and enjoyed. My ultimate goal has always been to make bread with a deep, satisfying flavour and a good crust. From the basic recipes to the more exciting and interesting sourdough processes, this book will guide you on your baking adventure. I believe that everyone can make a loaf of bread, and with practice, it can be great bread.

FLOUR AND SALT

Flour can be made from different grains. Most of the flour used in this book is made from wheat or rye.

Each grain of wheat contains three main elements: bran, endosperm and germ. The way in which the wheat is milled determines which parts of the grain remain in the flour, and which are lost. There are two ways of making flour from wheat.

1 Stoneground flour is obtained by crushing the wheat between two millstones. The resulting flour is considered wholemeal or whole-wheat and generally retains all three parts of the grain. When this flour is sifted and therefore refined, white flour is obtained. It is normally grey because there are trace elements of bran that can’t be removed.

2 Roller-milled flour is made using a series of metal rollers that crush the grain to a powder. Roller-milled flour is generally broken down into its different parts, then put back together. White flour is normally roller milled. If you buy a bag of wheat flour, unless it is specifically labelled stoneground, it has been roller milled.

Wholemeal/whole-wheat flour contains 100% of the original grain and therefore nothing has been destroyed or lost during milling.

When flour and water are mixed, the starch in the flour absorbs the water and, as a result, some of the starch is converted to sugar. Yeast feeds off the sugar and produces carbon dioxide. The combination of flour, water and kneading helps to create gluten, which is responsible for the elasticity of bread dough. Gluten traps carbon dioxide thereby ensuring that the bread rises and creates the little bubbles you see in a slice of baked bread.

WHEAT FLOURS

Many varieties of wheat are grown and a miller will blend different varieties to make different types of white flour. For example, plain white or all-purpose flour has a medium protein (and therefore gluten) content – about 10%. It contains 75% of the original grain, which means that most of the bran and germ have been removed. It is mainly used for baking cookies, pastries and some cakes. Cake flour or soft flour has an even lower protein content (about 8%) and a high starch content.

For bread making, we require strong/bread flour. Strong or bread flour is specially blended by the miller for bread making and it contains a high amount of protein (up to 17%) to trap the carbon dioxide during fermentation and give the bread a good texture. Look for organic or unbleached flour for the best results. Other grades of flour include brown and white wholemeal/whole-wheat. In the UK, malthouse or Granary-style flour is a brown flour containing malted grain. Malting is a process whereby a grain is allowed to start germinating – during which starch is converted to sugar – and then roasted. The malted grain is either added whole to flour or it is ground first and mixed into the flour. The resulting bread is sweeter and nuttier than other breads. Where this flour cannot be found, a blend can be made (see page 19).

Self-raising/self-rising flour has had baking powder added to it. It is used in cake making.

In France and Germany, flour is named after the ash content in the flour. The higher the number, the higher the protein content and the greater the percentage of original grain. French flours range from Type 45 to T150. In Germany, the numbers range from 450 to 1600. In Italy, the flour is classified by how finely it is ground, starting from tipo “1”, through “0” and “00”, which is powdery soft.

RYE FLOUR

With a lower gluten content than wheat, rye flour by itself makes a dense loaf of bread. It is high in fibre, minerals and antioxidants, and can usually be found as light, medium or dark rye flour, depending on the amount of bran remaining. Dark rye flour is sometimes called pumpernickel flour in the USA.

SPELT FLOUR

Spelt is an ancient grain, known variously as Roman wheat, dinkel in Germany and farro in Italy. It can usually be found as white or wholegrain flour. It is high in fibre and protein, and is more easily digested than wheat, so is suitable for the wheat-intolerant.

KHORASAN OR KAMUT FLOUR

Khorasan is an ancient grain, known as Egyptian wheat. It is high in protein and tends to be suitable for the wheat-intolerant. You will most likely find it sold under the trade name of Kamut.

SALT

Salt is very important in the bread-making process. Not only does it season the bread but it also reacts with the protein in the flour to strengthen the gluten, and it deepens the colour of the bread crust. It is also a preservative, helping to prolong the bread’s shelf life. However, too much salt can prevent the bread from rising.

YEAST AND WATER

Yeast is a single-celled fungus. As I mentioned on page 8, yeast feeds on sugar to produce carbon dioxide as well as a small amount of alcohol. This is a type of fermentation and is very important both because of its ability to make bread rise but also to give flavour to the bread. In this book we will be using three kinds of yeast: fresh yeast, dried/active dry yeast and sourdough starter (see opposite), which you will make yourself.

TYPES OF YEAST

Fresh compressed yeast comes in block form (called ‘cakes’) and should always be beige and crumbly or putty-like. If exposed to air for a long period of time, it will oxidize and darken. Discard any dark bits and use the rest as soon as possible. Always refrigerate fresh yeast in an airtight container or wrapped in clingfilm/plastic wrap. Dried/active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before use. (Instant or rapid-rise yeast is mixed directly into flour: it is not used in these recipes.) Once opened it should be kept in a sealed container. The recipes in this book use fresh yeast or dried/active dry yeast, but I highly recommend fresh if you can find it. You only ever need half the weight of dried yeast as fresh. Check expiration dates before using.

WATER

Water helps yeast to rise and promote gluten, which is present in the flour. It is important to use room temperature or warm water as stated in the recipes. Warm water should feel like blood temperature when you put your finger in it. In areas where water is very hard or strongly chlorinated, use bottled spring water. As a rule, in all the recipes in the book I always dissolve the yeast in water before starting the bread-making process.

SOURDOUGH

Wheat, rye and other grains have been combined with water by bakers for thousands of years to make sourdough starters. Wild yeast spores are present in air and flour. Mixing flour and water and allowing it to ferment – ie when yeast breeds and produces carbon dioxide – creates a starter (also known as the ‘chef’ or ‘mother’). The starter takes 3–5 days to develop and, when it is ready, can be used (in place of baker’s yeast) to make bread.

Day 1: Mix 1 teaspoon flour and 2 teaspoons water in a clear jar. Seal and let stand overnight.

Days 2, 3, 4 and 5: Add 1 teaspoon flour and 2 teaspoons water to the jar and stir. More and more bubbles will form on the surface.

To make a starter, mix 15 g/1 tablespoon from the jar with 150 g/1 generous cup flour and 150 g/150 ml/⅔ cup warm water in a large bowl. Cover and let ferment overnight. The next day, use the amount of starter needed for your recipe.

Add 1 teaspoon flour to the remaining ferment in the jar, seal and refrigerate for use another time. If it is left in the refrigerator for a long time, it might become dormant. Throw away the acidic liquid on the surface, stir in 30 g/2 tablespoons flour and 30 g/30 ml/2 tablespoons water, mix to a paste, seal and let stand overnight. The next day, if bubbles have formed, it is ready to be made into a starter. If not, repeat the process above. Treat your sourdough with tender loving care and you can keep it indefinitely.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Accuracy is crucial in bread making. For this reason, I have given all ingredients in metric weights first (including salt, yeast and liquids), followed by American cups and/or ounces, teaspoons or tablespoons. I highly recommend that you weigh everything on high-precision electronic scales, but of course it’s up to you. A properly measured cup of white flour weighs 120 g or 4¼ oz. When measuring flour by the cup, spoon it into the appropriate measuring cup and scrape off the excess in a clear glass or acrylic measuring cup with a pour spout and a handle.

Precision electronic scales: See paragraph above. If you choose to weigh your bread-making ingredients (rather than measure them in cups and spoons), you want scales that can weigh between 1 g and about 3 kg. They tend to come in 1-g, 2-g or 5-g graduation, so make sure you buy scales with a 1-g graduation for the most accurate measurement of ingredients like yeast, salt and water.

At least 1 large mixing bowl (approximately 2-litre/8-cup capacity) and at least 1 small mixing bowl (approximately 1-litre/4-cup capacity): You want to be able to fit one bowl on top of the other snugly. You can either upturn the smaller one and put it inside the bigger bowl; or you can upturn the larger one and place it over the smaller one. I find this the most convenient way to mix wet and dry ingredients, as well as providing an easy covering while the dough rises. I normally use a plastic or Pyrex bowl, but if you use Pyrex, make sure you rinse the bowl in warm water to warm it up if it has been stored in a cold cupboard.

Roasting pan: You will need to put a cup of water in this to create steam in your oven. Put the pan on the bottom of the oven before preheating it.

Loaf pans: 500-g/6 × 4-inch (or 1-lb.) and 900-g/8½ × 4½-inch (or 2-lb.) capacities are what we mainly use in this book.

Proofing/dough-rising baskets: These come in various shapes and sizes and are used to hold dough during proofing. They shape the dough and create attractive patterns on the crust of the baked bread. They are made from a variety of materials. These baskets are not essential to bread making but are a good investment for the avid baker.

Proofing/baker’s linen (couche) or clean tea/kitchen towel: This is a thick linen traditionally used to support dough inside a proofing basket (especially French baguettes) and also to absorb a little moisture from the dough, which helps to form the bread crust. You can also use thick, heavy, clean tea/kitchen towels for this and to cover the dough during proofing.

Baking stone: Avid bakers might like to invest in a baking stone. Baking stones come in a variety of materials and thicknesses, and are designed to help bake bread evenly. They should be put in the oven and preheated slowly at the same time as the oven. If you put a cold stone in a very hot oven, it can crack. See also ‘baking sheets’ below.

Bread or pizza peel: Use this to slide the bread into the hot oven.

Baking sheets: You will often need more than one baking sheet if you are making individual pastries or similar. See also ‘baking stone’ above.

Metal dough scraper or sharp, serrated knife: A metal dough scraper makes dividing dough accurate and easy, but a sharp, serrated knife works well, too.

Plastic dough scraper: This scrapes dough and stray ingredients cleanly from the edge of a mixing bowl so that all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Lamé: This is a small, very sharp blade like a scalpel to score and slash the surface of the bread before baking. You can use a clean razor blade securely attached to the end of a wooden coffee stirrer (see photograph on page 52) or a small, very sharp knife instead.

As well as the more specialist pieces of equipment above, you will also need many of these common kitchen items.

Chopping/cutting board

Clingfilm/plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag

Fine sieve/strainer or flour sifter

Kitchen timer

Large knife

Measuring jug or cups

Measuring spoons

Non-stick parchment paper

Pair of kitchen scissors

Pastry brush

Rolling pin

Round cake pans

Saucepans

Slotted spoon

Wire rack for cooling

Wooden spoon

GUIDELINES AND TIPS

GETTING STARTED

1 The most important thing is to check that you have all the ingredients you need and in the right quantities. There is nothing worse than going straight into a recipe and getting halfway through before you realize that you have the wrong type of flour, your yeast has passed its expiration date or you don’t have enough oats.

2 Start by clearing your work surface.

3 Measure all the ingredients and have them ready in front of you. Some recipes list the same ingredient twice, in different quantities. This is because, for example, 125 g/1 cup strong/bread flour is needed for one step of the recipe and then an additional 250 g/2 cups is needed later. Make sure you have taken this into account when you are checking you have enough flour in your cupboard.

4 Read the recipe all the way through and make sure you have all the appropriate equipment ready, including bowls, containers and/or baking pans. Only specific baking pans and special bread-making equipment (such as proofing/dough-rising baskets and baking sheets lined with parchment paper) are itemized in individual recipes. You should assume that each recipe will require other basic kitchen equipment, as listed on page 13.

5 When a recipe states that it makes a small loaf, this is equivalent to one made in a 500-g/6 × 4-inch loaf pan, from which you will get about 12 slices; if a large loaf, this equates to a 900-g/8½ × 4½-inch loaf pan or about 21 slices.

MAKING AND KNEADING THE DOUGH

1 Make sure the dry ingredients are well mixed before proceeding with the recipe.

2 Make sure the yeast is completely dissolved before proceeding with the recipe.

3 Recipes usually advise you to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients so that you can use the bowl that had the dry ingredients to cover the mixture. I find this a very good system, so that’s what I’ve advised for most recipes in this book.

4 Mix everything together very well. You could start doing this with a wooden spoon, then continue with your hands when the mixture comes together to form a dough.

5 You might like to use a plastic dough scraper to scrape the side of the bowl and the wooden spoon, and make sure you have mixed in all the dough into a ball, ready to rest.

6 Now cover with the bowl that had the dry mixture in it. Place it upside down over the bowl with the dough. This provides a tight, neat covering, but if you prefer, you can wrap the bowl in a clean, clear plastic bag that you have blown up. Avoid using clingfilm/plastic wrap because the dough can get stuck to it when it rises.

7 Let the dough rest for the time stated in the recipe – usually 10 minutes. During this time, gluten will start to form (see page 8).

8 After resting, the dough requires kneading in order to strengthen and promote the gluten. I believe in a very basic method of kneading: see page 20 for instructions and step-by-step pictures showing you how to do this. The dough is effectively folded inside the mixing bowl 10 times and for about 10 seconds. No lengthy pummelling or pounding, or indeed elbow grease, is needed!

9 We do this 10-second kneading process 4 times in total, with 10 minutes of rest between each stage. I always make a small indentation in the dough each time I knead it to keep track of how many stages of kneading it has been through. You will see these dents in the dough in some of the pictures throughout the book.

10 After the 4 stages of kneading, cover the dough again (as in Step 6) and let rest for 1 hour to ferment and develop flavour. Covering the bowl will ensure that a skin doesn’t form on the dough.

SHAPING

1 After 1 hour, the rested dough is uncovered. You will notice an alcoholic smell coming from the dough; this is the by-product of fermentation. There should also be signs of moisture on the bowl or plastic bag that was covering the dough.

2 The dough will have risen substantially, so gently punch it down with your fist to deflate it.

3 Sprinkle a little flour (whichever flour you are using for the recipe) over a clean work surface, remove the dough from the bowl and place it on the floured surface.

4 If the dough is sticky, sprinkle a little flour on it and/or on your hands to stop it sticking.

5 Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball, a flattened oval, a loaf shape or whichever shape is described in the recipe.

6 Instructions for shaping dough in the recipes may sometimes seem complicated or laborious, but the dough needs to be handled and shaped in such a way as to maximize gluten development and ensure the dough rises evenly while baking.

7 If you are making more than one item, divide the dough into equal portions using a metal dough scraper or sharp, serrated knife. I usually weigh each portion and add or subtract dough from each one until they all weigh the same. This ensures that all the portions bake evenly.

8 If you find that the dough is contracting or the surface is cracking while you are shaping it, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

9 Place the dough(s) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, a floured or cloth-lined proofing/dough-rising basket or in the greased loaf pan, as instructed in the recipe.

PROOFING/RISING

1 Now the bread is ready to proof (or rise). The best conditions for proofing are warmth and slight humidity, so you will need to cover the dough.

2 I recommend that you turn your oven into a ‘proofer’. To do this, preheat the oven to its very lowest setting (50°C or 120°F). Now turn the oven off: this is very important. Slide a rack in the middle and put a clean, wet tea/kitchen towel on the rack. Place the bread for proofing/rising in the warm oven on the tea/kitchen towel and let it rise. Check the bread from time to time and, once it has nearly doubled in volume, remove the bread and the towel and preheat the oven to the required temperature, ready for baking.

3 If you do not want to use your oven in this way, cover the bread with an upside-down bowl or wrap the bowl in a clean, clear plastic bag and blow it up. Place a cup of boiling water nearby. The cup of water in this step and the towel in Step 2 will provide the humidity and warmth necessary for the dough to rise.

4 Proofing/rising is very important because it encourages the yeast to multiply, resulting in a light, risen loaf.

SLASHING

1 When the bread has finished proofing/rising, you may like to slash the top to create a pattern and also to allow gas to escape as the loaf bakes.

2 For slashing, you can either use a lamé (see page 13), a clean razor blade securely attached to the end of a wooden coffee stirrer or a small, very sharp knife.

3 Always score just the surface of the loaf – don’t cut too deeply – and it helps to hold the lamé or knife at a 45° angle to the surface of the bread.

BAKING

1 For most recipes, you will need to preheat the oven to its highest setting – 240°C (475°F) Gas 9 using the fan setting, if possible. If there is no fan setting, select the setting that heats the oven from top and bottom.

2 Always give the oven time to reach the required temperature. Ovens vary, but generally speaking, you will need 20–30 minutes to attain the highest temperature.

3 Make sure you have a rack in the middle of the oven on which to place the bread if it is in a loaf pan.

4 Put a deep roasting pan in the bottom of the oven.

5 Prepare a cup of water and set aside. This will create steam.

6 If you are using a baking stone, place this on the middle rack of the oven to preheat. Never put a cold baking stone in a hot oven because the sudden change in temperature can make it crack.

7 When the bread is ready to go in the oven, if it is in a loaf pan, slide onto the middle rack in the oven and immediately pour the reserved cupful of water into the hot roasting pan at the bottom.

8 If the loaf has been in a proofing/dough-rising basket, transfer it to a floured bread peel, and then slide it onto your preheated baking stone. If you’re not using a baking stone, transfer the bread straight to a paper-lined baking sheet and slide onto the middle rack in the oven. Remember to pour the reserved cupful of water into the hot roasting pan at the bottom.

9 Steam is important for many reasons. When the bread is put in the oven, it starts to bake from the outside in. If there is no steam, you will get a poor colour and the surface of the bread can crack. However, steam helps to glaze the bread and soften the crust, letting out the air bubbles so that the surface does not crack. And where it is slashed, the incision is more pronounced. You also get a better colour and crust.

10 Always bake the bread in a properly preheated oven and remember to lower the temperature if stated.

11 If the bread is browning too much, lower the oven temperature and cover the surface with a sheet of parchment paper.

12 To check if it is baked through, tip the bread out of the loaf pan or tip it over and tap the bottom – it should sound hollow.

13 If it is not ready, return to the oven for a few minutes.

14 If it is ready, set it on a wire rack to cool.

15 Always remember that hot bread, when taken out of the oven, continues to bake, and the crust will seem very doughy for up to 15 minutes.

BASICS & OTHER YEASTED BREADS

SIMPLE WHITE BREAD

WITH TWO VARIATIONS

This is the recipe that I suggest you start with on your bread-making adventure. It is the blueprint for most recipes in this book. The variations are made in exactly the same way, but be aware that malthouse flour can be hard to find, so use the blend suggested below.

WHITE

300 g/2⅓ cups white strong/bread flour

6 g/1 teaspoon salt

3 g fresh yeast or 2 g/¾ teaspoon dried/active dry yeast

200 g/200 ml/¾ cup warm water

500-g/6 × 4-in. loaf pan, greased with vegetable oil

MALTHOUSE

300 g/2½ cups malthouse flour (or 1½ cups unbleached bread flour, ⅔ cup multigrain blend or medium rye flour and ⅓ cup malted wheat flakes)

6 g/1 teaspoon salt

3 g fresh yeast or 2 g/¾ teaspoon dried/active dry yeast

200 g/200 ml/¾ cup warm water

WHOLEMEAL/WHOLE-WHEAT

300 g/2½ cups stoneground wholemeal/whole-wheat flour

6 g/1 teaspoon salt

3 g fresh yeast or 2 g/¾ teaspoon dried/active dry yeast

230 g/230 ml/1 scant cup warm water

MAKES 1 SMALL LOAF

1  In one (smaller) mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt together and set aside. This is the dry mixture. (A)

2  In another (larger) mixing bowl, weigh out the yeast. (B)

3  Add the water to the yeast. (C)

4  Stir until the yeast has dissolved. This is the wet mixture. (D)

5  Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. (E)

6  Mix the mixtures together with a wooden spoon and then your hands until they come together to form a dough. (F)

7  Use a plastic scraper to scrape the side of the bowl clean and make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. (G)

8  Cover with the bowl that had the dry mixture in it. (H)

9  Let stand for 10 minutes.

10  After 10 minutes, the dough is ready to be kneaded. Leaving it in the bowl, pull a portion of the dough up from the side and press it into the middle. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat this process with another portion of dough. Repeat another 8 times. The whole process should only take about 10 seconds and the dough should start to resist. (I) (J) (K)

11  Cover the bowl again and let stand for 10 minutes.

12  Now repeat Steps 10 and 11 twice. After the second kneading, the dough should resist strongly when you pull it. (L)

13  After the third kneading, the dough should be beautifully smooth. (M)

14  Repeat Step 10 one last time.

15  After the fourth kneading, you should have a smooth ball of dough when you turn it over in the bowl. (N)

16  Now cover the bowl again and let rise for 1 hour.

17  When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down gently with your fist to release the air. (O)

18  Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour.

19  Remove the ball of dough from the bowl and place it on the floured work surface. Gently flatten the dough into an oval. (P)

20  Fold the right end of the oval over into the middle. (Q)

21  Now fold the left end of the oval over to the middle. (R)

22  Press down slightly to seal the dough together. You will now have a roughly rectangular shape. (S)

23  Now you can start to shape the dough into a loaf: pull and fold the top of the rectangle one third of the way toward the middle, pressing it into the dough. (T) (U)

24  Swivel the dough 180° and then repeat Step 22. Repeat until you have a neat, reasonably flat loaf shape roughly the size of your loaf pan. (V)

25  Place the dough inside the prepared loaf pan, seam-side down. (W)

(X)  shows this simple white bread plus the malthouse and wholemeal/whole-wheat variations in their pans.

26  Cover the loaf pan with the large bowl or a clean plastic bag (blown up) and let rise until slightly less than double the size – about 30–45 minutes.

27  About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F) Gas 9 (fan setting, if possible) or as high as your oven will go. Place a roasting pan at the bottom of the oven to preheat. Fill a cup with water and set aside.

28  When the dough has finished rising, remove the bowl or covering. (Y)