Hand made White Bread

My god it's been a while hasn't it?? I have been neglecting my blog, and I am sorry. That is not to say that I haven't been cooking though. I will get right on posting some of the things I have been cooking, now that I'm back into it.
This one is a little beauty though. It is just basic, simple, beautiful, crusty white bread. Ever since I came across this recipe I have been wondering why anyone buys bread. Me and Betty haven't bought bread in about 5 months now, because this really is very easy and tasty. The only problem is that you have to make it every 2 or 3 days, as it gets really hard, and it disappears very quickly ;). I say again this is simple basic bread, nothing fancy, nothing added, just bread, so if you looking for something fancy....this ain't for you!!

Ooooh and  one more thing. I am going to use this platform to talk about a new love of mine......Marmite, the missus got me into it, and I haven't looked back. It is just the most amazing thing in the world and I would urge anyone who hasn't tried it to do so. Also If you try it on a piece of this bread straight out of the oven, with some butter, it's heaven!
Right lets get to it.

Ingredients-
750g flour
400ml warm water
11g dried yeast(or twice the amount of fresh yeast, activated*)
A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Put the flour, dried yeast (if using) and salt into a large plastic bowl, and make sure it is well mixed. Make a well in the centre.

2. If you are using fresh yeast (which you can usually get from supermarket bakery counters) then mash it with a fork with a small amount of sugar, and warm water,until it is smooth and frothing slightly.

3. Then add most of the water and mix the mixture with your hands making sure to get all of the flour from the bowl, add more water if its a bit dry, I find you usually need the full 400ml of water.

4. Knead for 15 minutes on a floured work surface until it's smooth and springy use the thumb test to see if it's ready (press your thumb gently into the dough a couple of centimetres, as you take your thumb out if the dough springs back it's ready). Also here is a good video on kneading-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

5. Next clean out the bowl and lightly oil it. Place the dough in the bowl making sure its well covered with oil and cover the bowl with a tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size.

6. Then you punch the air out of the dough, and knead for another 10 to 15 mins, then place it in a loaf tin (for this recipe a tin about 30 to 40 cm is perfect, if yours is a different size, just adjust the proportions of everything accordingly). Leave it in the tin for another 30 minutes to prove. About 20 mins in preheat the oven to 220°C.

7. Now score the top of the loaf gently length-ways with a nice sharp knife and sprinkle the top with some flour. Put the bread in the centre of the oven at this temperature for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 190°C for a further 30 minutes.

That's it, take it out, cut it, and enjoy. Oh and try it with some butter and Marmite!!

Also I will try to write again as soon as I can. It's my new year's resolution.