Restaurant Guide

Bread of Heaven

21/02/2008

I had for many years worried that the art of bread making was dying out, and in no time the only thing left would be supermarket fodder.

Recently there seems to have been a renaissance of all the artisan elements of food production, with bread being a big part of that.

There are all sorts of culinary gadgets on the market, with celebrity chef endorsement to boot. But the reality is that to make bread you only need three elements – flour, water and yeast and the yeast in some instances can be avoided altogether.

The popularity of bread had brought in fads and fashions, some being great, but others being short lived and tiresome.

It is now possible to get sourdough, lavash, poolish, ciabatta, focaccia, brioche, rye, soda and so on – but I believe there is still a demand for bread, you know, normal bread, freshly baked from the oven. It has a crisp crust, and soft delicious texture, makes good toast and sandwiches, goes well with a bowl of soup or a slice of terrine.

You can make this delicious bread without any state-of-the-art bread making machines; in fact I find it highly therapeutic to knead the dough by hand.

At The Castle head chef Jerome, pictured right with his finished loaves and rolls, or his right hand man, Armondo, will make bread every day and here’s how. We are lucky to have a stone based pizza oven which is fantastic for bread, but it can be done in pretty much any oven.

Basic Bread Recipe
Makes one loaf

500g strong white or granary flour
19g caster sugar
19g salt
7g dried yeast
2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
300g warm water

Mix the salt, sugar and flour in a bowl. In another bowl mix the water, yeast and oil.

Add the liquid to the flour and bind together by hand or in a powerful kitchen mixer (mixing dough in a low powered machine will destroy the motor pretty quickly!). Place the dough on to a clean surface and knead it vigorously for at least 10 minutes. By the time it is ready it will feel quite spongy and elastic.

Put back into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth, leave to prove for 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Knead the dough again for a further 10 minutes and shape into a round loaf, baguette, or individual rolls.

Put the dough on to a baking sheet and allow to prove once more until doubled in size.

Bake in a preheated oven (225°C, gas mark 5) for 30 minutes or so for the loaf, less for baguettes and rolls.

Chef’s tip: Bread straight from the oven is difficult to resist, spread on lightly salted butter and enjoy immediately for one of life's simplest, but most indulgent treats.

Remember to buy the best flour that you can, there are some great farm produced and organic flours available, and the better the flour, the better the bread.

Also there is no harm in freezing your own bread, just reheat in the oven when you need it. fm

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