Farmhouse Loaf

• 500g / 18oz Strong white bread flour

Ingredients

• 500g / 18oz Strong white bread flour
• 305g / 305mls Lukewarm water / 40°C / 104°F
• 7g / 2tsp Instant or active dried yeast
• 15g / ½oz Softened butter
• 8g / 1tsp Salt
• 6g / 1tsp Sugar
• Add the sugar to the warm water and stir, once dissolved, add the yeast and stir it in thoroughly, set it aside until it activates.
• In a bowl, add the salt to the flour and mix together, make a well in the flour.
• Once activated, add the yeast mixture and the soft butter to the well in the bowl, mix together until you have a sticky dough.
• Turn out the contents of the bowl onto your worktop, making sure you scrape down all of the flour, from the sides of the bowl.
• Using your bench scraper, bring it all together, and hand knead the dough for 10 minutes.
• If you wish to use a stand mixer, add all of the ingredients to the machines bowl, and knead for 10 minutes, using the dough hook attachment.
• After the 10-minute kneading, form the dough into a ball, place it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl, and let it rise for a minimum of 1 hour in a warm draft-free spot, the dough should at least double in size (this may take longer depending on the temperature of your kitchen)
• Grease a 2lb / 900g loaf tin, see video for tin dimensions.
• After the I hour, turn out the risen dough onto a floured surface and knock the dough back, this simply means force all of the gas out of it.
• Form the dough into a sausage shape and place it in the greased loaf tin, gently pressing it down to fill in any gaps in the corners.
• Lightly flour the top of the dough, then cover it with a dry light weight cloth, and allow it to proof until it has risen approximately 6cm / 2½ inches, over the top of the tin, this should take approx, 30 to 45 minutes.
• When you think there is only 10 minutes left on the proof, preheat your oven to 180°C that’s 355°F or gas mark 4, at the same time, place a pan/dish of hot water on the bottom shelf of your oven, (the steam created will make the loaf top crispier).
• Once the dough has fully risen, sprinkle on a little flour, carefully make a slash/cut down the full length and centre, of the dough, using your Lame, or razor blade, and get it into the preheated oven, and set your timer for 30 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes remove it from the oven, immediately take it out of the tin, and place it back in the oven, and increase the temperature to 210°C / 410°F / Gas mark 7, bake for a further 6 minutes.
• Remove from the oven allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

Method

Nutrition (whole recipe, approximate)

Notes

Tags: #bread