I have got into a rhythm of (once again) making bread for the whanau.
I find that it grounds me and makes me feel like I am doing a little bit of good for them. Knowing what’s in each loaf (flour, yeast, oil, water and salt) also means that there is only real food going into their bodies while filling and nourishing them.
The flip side is that the bread consumption has nearly doubled!
Especially we have also taken to making our own butter (our 12 year is a great butter churner!)
This is a basic, white loaf. No kneading required and I get two decent sized loaves at the end of a day.
Warm water 2.5 cups
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Yeast 1 tbsp
Flour 4 cups + 2 cups
Oil 1/4 cup
Salt 1 tsp
– Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and leave aside to activate.
– When the yeast is nice & bubbly, mix well.
– Add the oil and salt and give it a quick stir.
– Pour this into a big bowl and add the 4 cups of flour into the yeast slurry.
– Mix well with a wooden paddle and leave covered to proof.
– When the mixture has doubled, stir again.
– Add the additional 2 cups of flour and mix again.
– Spray your hands generously with oil and divide the dough into 2.
– Line 2 loaf tins with baking paper.
– Form a log like shape, tucking the edges on the underside and put into loaf tins.
– Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise.
– When the dough is well risen, bake at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
We’ve been using this for sandwiches as well as toast.
I’ve yet to play with seeds and other grains to make this a “healthier” option.
An aside – I have noticed that you don’t really need to knead the dough to get a great bread. But there seems to be a difference in the texture of the loaf when you pour the flour into the yeasty slurry. It seems to be better – softer and nicer.
This is a slow, whole day process but I find that it’s easy enough to do as there’s actually very little to be done.
Let me know if you make this.