This bread is a simple, soft, fluffy yeasted bread. We’ll use a similar flour blend as our ‘Sourdough Kids Loaf’ (see our previous blog post if you’d like to try baking it). This is a family favourite, a batch style loaf that we hope you’ll love. 

What You’ll Need

350g water or milk. 

10g salt 

10g fresh yeast (or 5g dried yeast if you can’t get fresh)

500g fresh flour (400 spelt flour, 100 wholewheat)

Method

Stage One

1. The first few steps of bread-making are similar so you’ll begin by mixing your flours together, simply ‘loosening’ them with your hand. 

2. Then add the salt and repeat that motion, followed by the yeast, which you will crumble in your hand and add to the mix. 

3. Create a well in the centre and add you chosen liquid. 

4. Using your hand, bring the ingredients from the inside to the outside of the bowl until you’ve brought them together. 

5. Tip the mix onto the counter and begin to knead. Everyone’s kneading technique will be different and that’s okay! All we aim to do is bring everything everything together, and we advise a ‘push and pull’ movement, push the bread with one hand and pull with the other. Then you can ‘slap and fold’ the dough against the counter, folding it on itself until it’s properly kneaded. This should take about three minutes. 

6. Leave it to rest and prove in an oiled bowl under a cloth for between 40 minutes to 1hr30 mins. Proving times are recommended as an average because it depends on the room temperature of your kitchen, and since everyone’s is vastly different, the most important thing to keep in mind is that after proving, the dough should have doubled in size.

Stage Two

7. Remove the now expanded, active dough and ‘knock it back’. We take a relaxed approach with this, simply let the air out and fold it back against the counter. 

8. Then begin to ‘fold and tuck’ the dough to shape it for the tin and place into a proving basket to rest. If you don’t have one, don’t worry you can place in simply in the tin (oiled) or wrap it in a tea towel as shown, tucking it around with the top revealed so it can expand during rest period. These alternatives are great if you’re making multiple loaves- the perfect gift!

Stage Three (Almost there!)

9. Allow to prove again until doubled in size. The loaf in the tin will have doubled in size to reach about ¾ of the tin.

10. Using a knife or scissors, score the bread. Do this however you’d like, but a simple score down the centre is sufficient.

11. Bake at 220 degrees for around 30 minutes/ until fully baked. 

Notes and Tips

• Spend a little for your salt, it will pay off, and don’t worry about heating milk if you use it. 
• Tips for kneading: bend your knees to avoid back pain and breathe to avoid feeling like you’ve done a big workout! 
• This small loaf tin is great for beginners looking to start baking real bread. 
• Make double the recipe and gift someone a loaf, real bread is such a lovely thing to receive, or to bring to a party or dinner. 
• Remember to try and not overthink the process and trust the dough- it works for you, you don’t work for it.

Remember to enjoy the process. Making real bread is a wonderful experience, if you try this recipe, send us a picture on our instagram @bread41dublin or tag us- we’d love to see it! If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask us, we’re happy to help. 

Happy bread making. 

Come back to our blog soon for more recipes and see our IGTV and video links for demos. 

Eoin

Youtube Link