Bread

Man cannot live by bread alone… but I’d have a good try when it tastes as good as this. Not many things taste better than a thick slice of fresh bread, spread with butter and jam.. or vegemite.. or honey.


I recently made a conscious decision to buy less processed food and bake from scratch in an effort to reduce the number of preservative we, and particularly the boys, are eating. Did you know it now takes a dead body longer to decompose than 50 or so years ago, simply because of the high number of preservatives we are exposed to? So I bake a loaf of bread every second day, and sometimes a fruit loaf as well. We are not big bread eaters, but a sandwich for school lunch and a couple of pieces of toast occasionally for breakfast are all we need.

Years ago I had a bread machine. My husband didn’t like the bread, my son didn’t like the bread, and for all the (minimal) effort I went to, all I got was a small, high loaf that was difficult to cut and most slices had a hole in the bottom. Needless to say the bread maker got pushed to the back of the cupboard and was eventually sold at a garage sale.

The hardest thing about making bread is getting organized. To get around this problem I make up 10 bags of bread mix at a time. Each bag of mix contains all the listed ingredients except the butter and water. This means making bread is as easy as dump out the mix, pour in the water and knead. I sometimes put it in the mixer and let it do all the work, but more often than not I just stand at the kitchen bench, listen to the radio and knead away. I have even sat out on the front steps and kneaded in the bowl.

I often make the bread dough first thing so that it can rise during the morning and I eventually get around to baking it in the afternoon. I have let it rise in the evening, shaped it and left it in the fridge overnight and baked it in the morning. All have been successful; it just depends when you need the bread.

This is the recipe I use, one I have adapted from the original I found on Simple Savings

500g plain flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbspn milk powder
2 tsp bread improver (or vinegar)
2 tsp yeast
1 tbspn butter
300ml lukewarm water

Mix all the dry ingredients, store if required
Add butter; squash it into the flour a bit if you feel like it
Add water, using the ends of your fingers of one hand start stirring the flour into the liquid
Keep mixing and folding it over to incorporate all the flour
Turn out onto a smooth surface and knead until smooth
Return it to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap
Leave to rise in a warm place, about 1 hour or until doubled in size
Punch the air out of the dough
Turn it out and give it a quick knead
Shape as required or place in tin
Leave to rest 30mins
Brush with water for a golden but chewy crust (egg and milk wash give a crunchier crust(
Sprinkle with seeds if desired
Bake at 200C for 30mins
To test if done, the bread should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom
Remove from tray and cool on a rack – if you can wait that long.

Now someone please pass the butter and honey.