Hello.
TUMBLEWEED.
I’ve been incredibly lazy and haven’t blogged for aaaaages, but this is an amazing recipe I stole off Sod Nigella and the Mountain Bakery for the most delicious home-made loaf you will ever eat.
This is so terribly easy but does take a bit of time – I tend to make the dough in the evening and stick it in the oven the next morning.
- A casserole with a lid
- 400g strong white bread flour (On Morgan’s advice I tend to throw in a big tablespoon of extra flour to get the bread a bit firmer.)
- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt.
- 350ml tepid water
- ¼ teaspoon of dried yeast
As always, make sure the water isn’t too hot otherwise you’ll kill all your yeast and then where will you be, hey? Sad and hungry, that’s where.
Mix in the yeast and leave it to one side for a minute – it should go slightly gross. This means it’s working.Stick the flour and salt in a nice big bowl (you want lots of room for the dough to rise) and add the water. Mix it up a bit but don’t worry about it too much. It’ll end up as a very sticky, wet mess. It doesn’t need to be all glossy and together.Cover this with clingfilm and leave it somewhere warm overnight. That’s right, OVERNIGHT.
When your dough has proved it’ll seem like it’s gone all wrong. A big, bubbly sticky mess that looks like it’ll fall as soon as you touch it. It should be like this, or always has been when I’ve made it, so deep breaths – you’re fine.
Whack your oven up as high as it will go, probably 250ºc, and stick in the casserole with the lid on to heat up.
Flour a surface really well and, being careful not to knock too much air out of it, get your dough out of the bowl. Fold it over on itself so the top is all floured and cover. Everyone seems to be using a tea towel but I can’t be bothered with the washing so use clingfilm.
Once your pot is nice and hot plonk your dough in it, put the lid back on and stick it in the oven for half an hour. After this take the lid off and stick it back in for another ten minutes or until it’s golden and crusty on top.
Done. Told you it was easy.
So easy EVERYONE has been at it.
Kate DH made it:
One of the guys from my office made it:
sarahduggers 
Looks a bit like a ciabatta. Does it taste like a ciabatta?
Hmm, yes and no. It’s got a very crunchy crust but the inside is quite squidgy and chewy. It’s one of the nicest breads I’ve ever eaten and I heart carbs.