Bread is one of the foods I think we all take for granted.  It’s so easy to just pickup a loaf of “Wonder Bread” from the supper market and be done with it.  But for a little bit of invested time, you can produce something that is a hundred times better quality at a fraction of the cost!  And personally, I find the process rather gratifying.

This recipe comes from one of Jamie Oliver’s cook books: jamie’s kitchen.

1. Dissolve 3/4 oz of active dry yeast (roughly three packets) and 2 tbsp of sugar in a 1 1/4 cups of warm tap water.
2. Lay out 6-8 cups of flour into a pile on a large open surface.  You need lots of space for this.
3. Spread 2 tbsp of salt onto the pile.
4. Make a large well in the middle.  In the neighbourhood of 6-8 inches in diameter.
5. Pour the yeast mixture into the well.
6. With one hand, gradually turn the flour from the edges of the well into the yeast mixture until it has been all soaked up by the flour.  Try to leave a perimeter of flour in tacked.
7. Pour another 1 cup of warm tap water into the well (or what’s left of it) and gradually incorporate the rest of the flour.  Don’t be afraid to add more flour if it’s too watery or more water if it’s too tough.
8. You should end up with a big blob of something that resembles dough.
9. Begin kneading.  Keep kneading until the dough takes on a smooth texture, and then knead some more just to be sure.

Rising

This part is really important.  My first few attempts at making bread where less than spectacular because I screwed up the rising process.  It’s important not to be impatient… let each rising step finish before moving on.

1. Form the dough into a ball and dust with flour.  Score it deeply with a sharp knife.
2. Place in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.  I like to put the dough in the oven (turned off!) with a pan of hot tap water beside it.
3. Split the dough in half and knead the dough a second time with a little extra flour to get rid of all the air pockets.  You can freeze the second ball of dough for later if you like.
4. Now form the dough into the desired shape.  The loaf above was created by rolling the dough into a cylinder about 3 inches in diameter.
5. Lightly dust the dough and place it on a baking sheet.  Score the dough lengthwise down the centre.  Let it rise a second time until it has doubled in size (30-60 minutes).  For the second rise, I typically leave the dough on the counter beside my oven while it is heating up.

Carefully (don’t disturb the airy goodness) place the dough in a preheated oven at 350 °F for 25 minutes.  Let it cool slightly before digging in.