Yummy Home Baked Bread

By Cazj80

A lovely soft fluffy bread that tastes as good as any loaf you can buy

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Messy Breakfast Sandwich

Croque mademoiselle

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour, plus a little extra for finishing
40g soft butter
12g fast action dried yeast
2 tsp salt
about 300ml tepid water (warm, not cold)
a little olive or sunflower oil (optional, if greasing work surface)

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Preparation time 120mins
Cooking time 30mins
Cost Budget Friendly

Preparation

Step 1

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and add the salt to the other side, otherwise the salt may kill the yeast. Stir all the ingredients to combine.

Step 2

Add half of the water and mix. Continue to add water a little at a time, combining well, until all the flour in the bowl is combined. You may not need all the water, or you may need a little extra, you want a dough that is well combined and soft but not sticky or soggy. Keep mixing until the mixture forms a rough dough.

Step 3

Turn your dough out on to either a greased or lightly floured, clean work surface. Knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy.

Step 4

Clean and lightly oil your mixing bowl and put the dough back into it. Cover with a damp tea towel or lightly oiled cling film, and set it aside to prove until the dough has doubled in size. This should take around one hour but it does depend on the temperature of your room.

Step 5

Once the dough has doubled in size scrape it out of the bowl to shape it. The texture should be bouncy and shiny. Turn it out on to a lightly floured surface and knock it back by kneading it firmly to "knock" out the air. Either shape into a loaf shape and place on a lined baking tray, or flatten and then roll up the dough and place into a loaf tin. Cover again with a damp tea towel or oiled cling film and leave to prove until it has doubled in size. Again, this may take about an hour.

Step 6

Preheat your oven to 220c (200c fan oven). Put an old, empty roasting tin into the bottom of the oven. Once the loaf has doubled in size, sprinkle some flour on top and very gently rub it in. Use a large sharp knife to score the top of the loaf, either in lines or to create a diamond pattern.

Step 7

Put the loaf into the middle of the oven. Pour cold water into the empty roasting tray at the bottom of the oven just before you shut the door, this creates steam which helps the loaf develop a crisp, shiny crust.

Step 8

Bake the loaf for about 30 minutes. The loaf is cooked when it's risen and golden. To check, take it out of the oven and tap it gently underneath, it should sound hollow. Turn on to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe can easily be doubled or quadrupled to make 2 or 4 loaves.