Smells like home
There is something to be said for the act of baking your own loaf of bread. Sure, in this day and age when there are artisan bakeries and loaves enough to supply all (or a Baker’s Delight product if you’re used to that supermarket flavour), why would anyone bother going through the time-consuming motions of baking a loaf of plain bread?
The only answer I can offer is that the bread tastes significantly different, having come from the fruit of your labours. The smell of the yeast, the warmth from the oven and then having the brown loaf cooling on your bench before you can slice off a thick piece, toast it, give it a few lashings of butter and consume it? There’s is an amazing sense of delight and accomplishment from this act, and enjoying your own bread with a cup of tea is a lovely relaxing way to end the whole process 
For all of my baking, I’m still relatively new to yeast and I’d never ever tried making my own loaf of bread till this fateful day. I don’t know what prompted it, but I woke up that morning and the air smelled…right. Something about that morning told me that it was finally time to attempt this hurdle, so I set off to the kitchen with ‘The Cook’s Book‘ in hand, mouth set in determination and anticipating the journey ahead.
Though the book recommends that you fresh yeast, I’ve no idea how to get a hold of the stuff so I had to adapt the recipe to dried instant yeast, but it still worked a treat and thrilled my family who consumed half the loaf the instant it left the oven. The crust is deliciously crunchy, the interior soft and fluffy, and the bread freezes quite well in case you and your family and quite as carb-hungry as me and mine 
Simple White Bread
Ingredients
5g dried instant yeast
350g water at around 22 degrees C
500g strong white flour, plus extra for shaping
10g sea salt
Olive oil, for kneading
1. Stir the yeast, 50g of water and 15g of flour together and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Ad the activated yeast to the remaining water, salt and flour and mix together to make a soft, sticky dough - make sure that everything is mixed together well and there are no lumps of unmixed flour. Cover this with a damp cloth and leave for 10 minutes to rest.
3. Lightly knead the dough:
To knead a yeast-risen bread, the book recommends using an oiled rather than a floured surface, and instead of a constant 10 minutes of kneading it recommends a series of brief kneads with rests in between.
3a. Take 1 tsp of oil (olive, corn or sunflower) and rub it onto your work surface in a large circle. Also rub about 2 tsp oil over the surface of the dough. Scrape the dough out onto the oiled surface.
3b. Before starting your knead, wash and dry the bowl, then rub the inside and your hands with a little oil. Set the bowl aside.
3c. Fold the dough in half towards you. It should be extremely soft and sticky at this stage.
3d. If you are right handed, use your left thumb to hold the fold in place whilst using the heel of your right hand to gently but firmly press down and away through the centre of the dough to seal the fold and stretch the dough.
3e. Lift and rotate the dough clockwise a quarter turn. Repeat the folding, pressing and rotating about 10-12 times, stopping before the dough starts to stick to the surface. Place the dough in the oiled bowl, seam side down, and cover with a cloth and leave for 10 minutes.
3f. Repeat previous step another 2 times, remembering to rub a little more oil over the dough after each 10 minute rest if it has become too sticky.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave for 30 minutes before giving the dough one final knead, then rest for a further 30 minutes before shaping.
4. Oil and flour a deep 12cm x 19cm loaf tin, then cut the dough into 2 equal portions, round them up then tuck them in side by side into the tin. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise at room temperature (around 22 degrees C) for 1- 1.5 hours, or till the dough is almost double in height.
5. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Uncover the loaf, mist with water and dust lightly with flour. Place the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then drop the heat to 190 degrees C and bake for a further 30 minutes or till the bread is done. To check whether the loaf is done, remove from the tin and sharply rap the bottom with your knuckles - it should feel lightish and make a hollow noise when rapped.
6. Once the loaf is done, remove from the oven and rest for a few minutes before taking it out of the tin and cooling on a wire rack. Once mostly cooled, slice yourself a piece, butter it up and enjoy!
There may seem to be quite a few steps, but all I’ve done is outline every step of the process so there is no guesswork required This turns out a perfect loaf every time, and you may find that it begins to make a regular appearance in your home!
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Comments
Tanna There really is nothing like it is there? I can’t tell you how many loaves I had to bake before I could let a baking really cool properly. I was always cutting bread right out of the oven.
Look lovely. Congratulations. Now you know, nothing to fear!
gattina Ellie, I can totally relate how you felt!!! Your bread looks superb! I don’t have this size of loaf pan, will search high and low, really can’t wait!
Brilynn I agree, there really is nothing better than the smell of bread baking in the oven. This could have been my entry into your nostalgia event, but I’m thinking of something else…
Susan from Food "Blogga" I know what you mean. I just love kneading dough; it’s so relaxing. Then when that delicious yeasty smell begins to waft through the house…ooh it really does remind me of home. Your bread must have been delicious, and it looks simply lovely.
Natalia Isn’t making bread the best? I used to think that it took too long and preferred baking something quicker, and usually sweeter. But now bread is my favorite thing to make. I love every part of the process. And I’m glad to see you venturning into the world of yeast. They sell the fresh stuff at a lot of regular grocery stores these days. Check in the refrigerated sections.
Mae Wow. Wow. Wow! I can only hope that one day, i’ll be able to bake a wonderful bread like this one.
Looks stunning!
Melinda from Melbourne Larder Hi Ellie
I love your site and have added it as a link on my blog - hope you don’t mind! Your bread looks absolutely delicious!
Making bread is one of life’s joys. There’s something deeply soothing about the rhythm of kneading and waiting for the bread to rise. In this day of fast-food and instant gratification, bread is one thing that links us to cookery’s traditions. I love baking bread and look forward to sharing some bread recipes with you in a future post! (also looking forward to entering your nostalgia event soon!)
Ellie Ilva - Thanks
Tanna - It’s definitely hard to beat I can understand your impatience with letting the loaf cool, my fingers were itching to break into my first loaf
Gattina - Actually, the pan size is only to make a loaf this big! You can turn this into rolls or breadsticks
Kat - It’s a marvellous thing, and after making this for the first time, I was kicking myself for not trying it earlier!
Brilynn - Ooo, can’t wait to see what it is!
Susan - Thanks hon
Natalia - I don’t think that breadmaking will become my primary baking, but it’s definitely up on the list I’ll have a look for the fresh yeast, it’d be great to try this with fresh and see what the difference is!
Patricia - Thanks hon
Mae - Hon, with your kitchen skills, I imagine that your bread would be amazing!
Cheryl - Thanks hon
Melinda - Thanks hon, glad you like it Will keep an eye out for your bread posts, and I can’t wait to see your entry into the event!
Lydia Basic white bread is a great place to start what I hope will be a long and happy life of baking bread! It is enormously satisfying when your loaves come out of the oven, and when you can serve them with pride and the knowledge that you made the bread with your own hands. There is always something magic about bread, more than any other kind of cooking.
Deborah Dowd You are absolutely right and your loaf looks terrific! There is nothing like that warm yeasty smell to make home seem like home!
gilly Yay Ellie! Glad your bread was such a success - it’s truly a great feeling to enjoy the fruits of one’s labours… 
Callipygia Can’t believe how wow wonderful your first bread is! And I can smell it from here.
Ellie Lydia - I’m certainly looking forward to trying more complex breads, perhaps even sourdough?? And I can definitely appreciate the magic behind a plain loaf of home made bread now
Deborah - Aww, thanks hon There’s nothing quite like it, though I’m worried about how I’ll get my bread to proof in the cooler Winter months, when I’ll need my home to seem warmer than usual
Suze - Hehehe, cheers
Gilly - Thanks sunshine! And your right, it’s a wonderful feeling!
Callypgia - Aww shucks Thanks!
Lisa Ohh Ellie muh luv.. you are my hero =) I’m still bread baking shy, even though I’ve just recently had a wonderful recipe given to me.. I keep making excuse because I am skeered. God.
Your bread looks perfect - simply perfect!! I’ll bet your house smelled amazing when it was baking!
Well done my friend, well done.
Ellie Hehe, thanks Lis I was terrified for ages as well, but I guess you’ve just gotta grit your teeth and venture forth
looks beautiful!