I love fresh bread, I think of myself as the sort of person who knocks up a fresh loaf every week, fitting it effortlessly into my Sunday morning routine while thumbing through the papers (*hollow laugh*, my Sunday morning routine generally involves playing dragons with my 3 year old while persuading him porridge is the best food ever, and that only fools eat sugary cereal …) The cold hard reality is that I have probably made less than 10 loaves in my entire life. I just can’t find a way to do it. What I need is a recipe that doesn’t need me to knead it (sorry …).
Ta da! Here it is, the kind of bread you could feasibly knock up before going to bed. To make it, combine 433g of wholemeal flour with 2tsp salt and 4tsp of soft brown sugar, add a sachet of fast action yeast, then mix to a smooth dough with about 300ml of warm water. Put the dough in a greased 900g loaf tin, and into a warm spot under a tea towel until it has almost doubled in size (about an hour-ish).
When it’s risen to the occasion, the loaf goes into a 200C oven for 40 minutes until brown, and is then turned out to cool.
I’ll let you know if I ever get around to it… but the ambition is definitely there. .