Bread

Having set out my first blog post, it is time to get to work!

I watched a documentary the other day about Tom Herbert and his quest to make the perfect loaf, I was taken by his statement: "Bread is flour, water, salt and yeast - and time. "

I think we often forget that in these days of non-fermented factory loaves - it is such a simple food but by altering the ratio of ingredients, the technique we can create products as diverse as a brioche tarte, a pain-a-chocolat, a pita bread or a rustic household loaf.

So, to bread.

I am starting out, as so many people do with what I have in the cupboards. In this case, a packed of Allinsons dried yeast - hopefully not out of date, some strong bread flour from Lidl - after all, if you cant make it cheap, why make it at all?, water from our tap and some salt of dodgy provenance.

Not for me the heady delights of fresh Parisian yeast, organic rye flour, spring water and sea salt, oh no! I want to see what can be rustled up in a tiny kitchen with the stuff we all could have hanging around.

First, the yeast. Allinsons dried - one heaped teaspoon into 350ml of warm tap water. add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and whisk it all together. Let it sit for 10-20 mins and check whether it is alive!

Success - although muted. Not having the 'as advertised' 1-2cm of froth, but it definitely smells of yeast and has a blob of something growing on the top - so here goes.

500 grams of 'bread flour' into the Kenwood along with a teaspoon of salt and the frothed up 350ml of warm yeasty brew - now, turn it to medium slow and let the machine have it's way with the dough for 10 minutes or so... and voila! A silky mass of dough at the bottom of the bowl.

At this stage the dough is warm from the kneading, sticky and springy to the touch. But I'm noteven half-way there yet.

So far I have worked the dough to make it elastic, allowing it to stretch out the gluten which will give us a chewy, textured product and allow the gasses from the fermenting yeast to make the dough 'airy' - or I will end up (as I have before) with a brick.

Now I need to let the dough relax and ferment, to let the yeast work it's magic by turning the sugars in the flour into gasses, which will double the size of the dough.

This can take from an hour to 15-20 hours, depending on the warmth, yeast and flour used, etc. There are no rules. You will, like me, get to know your flour, kitchen and yeast and so will have a fairly good idea of how long it takes to get from shiny ball to puffed up marshmallow stage.

So now, all I can do is wait.