It seems the whole world is busy baking during isolation, and while a sweet treat is much appreciated during these stressful times, nothing hits the spot quite like a warm loaf of bread. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at baking bread but never managed to get around to it, now’s your chance – and it’s easier than you think.
Even chef Phil Vickery is in on the action. He shared his tips on Monday’s This Morning, and included his recipe on the website – ready in just 45 minutes. If you’re one of the lucky ones who can get their hands on all ingredients, you’ll need:
600g strong white flour
1 level tsp salt
2 tbsp any oil
1 x 7g sachet dried yeast
300mls warm water, roughly
And here’s how it’s done:
1. Place the flour, salt and oil into a mixer and bring together
2. Add the yeast and enough warm water to form a soft dough, mix well until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and the gluten is now forming a stretchy dough
3. Tip onto a floured surface and knead well for 5 minutes
4. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with cling film and leave to double in size
5. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220C Gas 7
6. Once doubled in size, remove the cling film and tip onto the floured surface again
7. Now this time gently knead for a few seconds, just to bring together
8. Form into a sausage shape roughly the length of a 2lb loaf tin, then fold the edges under. Pop into the 2lb loaf tin and press into the sides and bottom.
9. Recover with cling film and leave again to rise until just under double in size. Dust the risen loaf with a little flour.
10. Make 3 long, diagonal slashes across the loaf and pop into the oven. Bake until well risen and browned, roughly 30 minutes.
11. Once cooked remove from the tin and leave to cool completely before trying to slice
WATCH: Phil Vickery shares his bread-making tips
If you can’t find yeast, you can still make soda bread without; you just need to swap out the yeast for bicarbonate of soda, and you won’t need to wait for it to rise.
Of course, there is an even easier option; you can buy a bread-maker! These machines do all the work for you, so you can sit back and relax while you let the smells take over your home. These are our favourites:
Russell Hobbs compact fast breadmaker, £69.99, Amazon
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Bread slicer, £9.99, Amazon
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Morphy Richards fastbake breadmaker, £59.99, Amazon
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Unold automatic bread making machine, £121.99, Amazon
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Your family will love you for this.
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