Knead it!

Isn't this a beautiful sight?! I love fresh bread straight from the oven, but nowadays we tend to go more for convience more than the old-fashioned ways. And I'm no different.

See, I think it's got something to do with the thought of that kneading, and waiting for it to rise.

Everywhere I look there's recipes for easy bread. Once I even tried one that had just flour and Greek yogurt! It came out fine, but it was not the same as that "proper" texture and smell as the real deal.

So the other day I decided to bite the bullet and try the whole start to finish thing. Well now I'm a converted bread apprecionist (is that's not a word, it should be!!).

This recipe was actually easy; basically dump the ingredients in the bowl, let it rise for quite a while, then turn it out and let it rise a litele longer (that part's the most important bit, I think anyways!)

So now I'd like to share my experience with this; trust me; you're gonna love it!

Sieft your flour, yeast and salt into a bowl (the origal recipe told me to use a metal bowl, but I didn't have one; it seemed to work just fine)

Mix in your water; it has to be warmish. I'm told that helps the yeast make the dough rise!

Give it a mix; at first it didn't seem "shaggy" like it was supposed to, but trust me; it'll get there!

Now comes the hard part; waiting! I left mine for about 18 hours; you can leave it longer (up to 24) but I grew impatient!

Turn it out onto a floured surface, knead it a few times..............

Move it onto a floured tray, cover and leave ro rise a further 1-2 hours.

Peek-a-boo!

About half an before you plan to bake your bread, preheat the oven to 450. Bake the bread for about 30-45mins. Now just slice and enjoy with some homemade butter (recipe for that to follow!).

Homemade bread

3 cups plain flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Stir flour, salt and yeast in a bowl, then add watter. Mix until shaggy and sticky.

Cover the bowl and let sit for 12-24hrs.

The surface should have risen and have dots on the tiop. Dust a surface and turn out. Knead a few times.

Dust a tray and place the bread on it. Let sit for a 1-2 more hours, covered.

Preheat the oven to 450oF half an hour before baking. Bake for 30-45mins until golden.