Here's the easiest everyday recipe that I've come during my 27 years of making bread for daily use. Its appeal lies in its simplicity, its versatility and economy of ingredients. Do factor in that it's not an instant bread: this slow food recipe needs at least a 24-hour waiting period to 'prove'. The dough can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge, then taken out when you're ready for a bake-up.
Start with 6x250ml cups (one and half liters) brown flour. Mix in a good teaspoon of salt and no more than 1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast. Toss and stir together. Optional - throw in seeds of your choice: chia, linseed, sunflower. It uses no sugar as the slow-ferment action consumes the sugar in the flour.
With a spoon, stir in up to about 750ml warm water to make a sticky dough. Stir and mix thoroughly. If it feels too wet, bundle in another handful of flour until it feels just right (ie holding together without being too 'gooey').
When it feels ready ie not too sticky, abandon the spoon and use (clean) hands, scooping in extra handfuls of flour to add to the dough to attain a pliable consistency. Knead like a cat! It should come away from the sides of the bowl; incorporate all bits into the dough ball. Enjoy this bit..
Keep kneading - it's a push-pull-fold-over movement using the heel of the hand - until it forms a soft ball, like playdough, which does not cling annoyingly to your skin; your hands should come away clean and floury.
Place the whole bowl containing the dough ball in a plastic packet and put in a warm spot - sun if you have it. Tie or fold the opening to create a closed, steamy, draft-free, warm environment for the flour and yeast to do its magic. Leave it overnight and further up to 24 hours. During this time open the bag and find that it's spilling up and over; give it another knock-down knead: great therapy! At this point, use a palmful of non-gluten flour (barley or rye) to dust hands and deal with any excess stickiness. It should scoop away from the sides of the bowl as you pummel it back into a glossy, malleable ball using the heel of your hand. You can repeat this process a couple of times while the bread is on the rise. You 'knock it back' and it rises again.
To prepare it for baking, put the dough in greased pans after a final thorough kneading, place back in the packets for its last rise in a warm place, then bake at mid-temperature (180 degreesC) for about 30-50 minutes, depending on your choice of tin. Instead of baking at this point, the dough ball can be kept in its plastic bag in the fridge for a couple more days.
unbaked and.............................................baked
It can also be baked in an iron 'potjie pot' on a fire - delicious crusty fire-bread cooked in the coals! Try and keep the ash out. As with many slow- food recipes, one develops a 'feel' for it rather than following a precise set of instructions.
If you are partial to daily bread, this one is well worth a try.
Liz Campbell is the sole writer and composer of all the published material on this blogsite, unless otherwise stated.
She has further blogsites:
songs for children http://connectsongdance.blogspot.com/
a collection of songs, poems and prose on the experience of loss, grief and recovery
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