Gorgoeus August has come. And I still kept crying about I never archived a good tasty white bread during my 2 years of baking. Some was considered ok, "soft but rubbery inside, crunchy outside but be careful it could break your teeth" I warned my husband. Until I have recently found Richard Bertinet's white loaf recipe, I decided this would be my family's daily bread. And this simple recipe with only 4 humble ingredients was honoured to be my very first archive.
Be prepared yourself for a long instruction. Quite not an easy method but anyone who has done French kneading before is always happy with the result, as far as I know. I would recommend you to type on youtube this gentlement's video to see how he does it.
First of all, please have a look at the loaf I made using his recipe. I was a proud baker to serve this on our dinner.
The original recipe calls for 1kg of strong bread flour. However, I only used half of the amount. I copied most of the instruction of Richard Bertinet here with a little bit of editing to suit my preference later. Feel free to use the link below if you wish to read fully his recipe.
Makes: 2 tin loaves
Ingredients
1 tsp Dove’s Farm Quick Yeast
1kg essential Waitrose Strong White Bread Flour
20g fine sea salt
730g water (or 730ml – you can use a measuring jug but weighing is more accurate)
1kg essential Waitrose Strong White Bread Flour
20g fine sea salt
730g water (or 730ml – you can use a measuring jug but weighing is more accurate)
Method
1. Mix the yeast into the flour well. Add the salt and water. Work the dough with a plastic scraper or spatula of some kind for 2–3 minutes, until the dough starts to form.
2. Lift the dough onto your work surface. Even though the dough will feel quite soft and moist (and look like thick, sticky porridge) do not add any flour or oil to the work surface. Scrape the dough into as small a ball as possible.
3. Begin to work the dough. The idea is to stretch it and get as much air into it as possible. Forget the way you have probably been taught to knead the dough, by pummelling it with the heel of your hands and rotating it. The way to work it is to slide your fingers underneath it like a pair of forks, with your thumbs on top, swing it upwards then slap it back down, away from you, onto your work surface.
4. Stretch the back of the dough towards you, then lift it back over itself in an arc (to trap the air), still stretching it forward and sideways and tucking it in around the edges. Do this 5 times then scrape the dough back into as small a ball as possible and repeat as necessary. Remember to use the tips of your fingers, not your whole hands.
5. As you work the dough it will start to come together and feel alive and elastic in your hands. Keep on working it until it comes cleanly away from the work surface, begins to look silky and feels smooth, firm-but-wobbly and responsive.
6. Lightly flour the work surface, place the smooth side of the dough on the flour and form the dough into a ball by folding each edge in turn into the centre. Place the dough into a mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel. Rest for at least 1 hour in a draught-free place in your kitchen.
For white tin loaves:1. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 equal pieces. Mould each very tightly into a loaf shape. To do this, first flatten the ball of dough a little with the heel of your hand. Fold one edge into the centre and press down with the heel of your hand. Fold the other edge over into the centre and press down again. Fold over in half and then press down again firmly to seal the edges.
2. Turn over and place (seam side down) in a greased loaf tin. Leave to prove in a warm draught-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Place your tins on the baking stone or upturned baking tray in your oven, mist the inside with water spray and bake for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat to 220°C (if your oven only reaches 220°C don’t turn it down). Bake the loaves for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the loaves from the tins and cool. For a perfect crust take the loaves out of their tins and put the loaves back into the oven for 4 to 5 minutes with the door slightly ajar to let the steam escape.
Lovely crust on the top, nice square sides, soft and bouncy inside. It was beautifully delicious in my opinion.
I was very happy with this white loaf recipe. If you look at all the unknown, unpronounceable and incredibly strange ingredients they put in your daily family's bread I'm pretty sure you will get up and bake for the sake of your health.
Happy baking and I hope you will succed this recipe.
