One finds oneself, these days, getting rather sick of all the factory produced bread that litters every supermarket and corner shop in this country. Although it is possible to buy good bread from such places, such loaves tend to be a little on the expensive side. In stark contrast, this loaf is exceptionally good, contains no preservatives and costs next to nothing. It merely requires a little time, but even the effect of this can be lessened by making the dough in advance.

The recipe below may look a little long and complex, but I assure you that isn’t the case, so why not give it a go! If you don’t have a few hours to spare in a single day, make the dough the night before and then put in the fridge to rise. This slows the rising process, and means the dough will be ready the next day just in time for baking. Otherwise, this loaf will take roughly three hours to make and bake: one hour is required to let it rise; another to let it prove. You can see the size of it for yourself, suffice to say it’s fairly large.

Ingredients:

500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

7g yeast

generous amount of salt

3 tbsp olive oil

300ml warm water

Method:

Mix together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a small well in the centre and pour in the oil and water. Mix thoroughly until you have a malleable, but not too sticky ball of dough.

Knead on a lightly floured surface until very smooth, this may take up to five minutes or so.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel, leave to rise, in a moderately warm place, for about an hour. In this time it should roughly double in size.

Knock the dough back, so it returns to roughly its original size. Line the baking tray with parchment and leave to prove for another hour.

Five minutes before the proofing process is over pre-heat the oven to 200C. Slice the top of the bread into a lattice and dust with flour. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Leave to cool for a little while before eating, otherwise it might be a little doughy.

Cost:

Around 40-50p for the entire loaf. Better an cheaper than anything you’ll get in a supermarket.