Freshly Baked Bread!

I've been wanting to make bread at home for ages and have tried a few recipes but they never turned out, then I found this recipe, tweaked it a little and it's fabulous! It looks like there are a lot of steps but I've gone into a lot of detail :-) This is gorgeous fresh, it's great from the freezer and it's fantastic toasted!!!

Ingredients

235ml warm water
2 tsp white sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp fine salt
30ml vegetable oil
400gm plain flour

Method

Step One...
Dissolve the sugar in the water, stir in the yeast
Put in a warm place until the mix is foamy

Step Two...

Add the the salt and oil

Mix in the flour well, a cup at a time, till the dough starts to come away from the bowl

Turn out and knead, adding a little flour at a time, till it's no longer sticky

Keep kneading for about 10 minutes till completely smooth

Wash and dry the bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil into the bowl

Knead the dough again for another minute or two and turn into the bowl to coat with oil

Cover the dough with cling film, add a tea towel and leave in a warm spot till doubled in size

Step Three...

Preheat oven to 175°c

Punch the dough to knock out the air and knead for a few more minutes

Shape into a loaf and place in a well oiled loaf pan (9"x5")

Rise in a warm spot till 1" above pan

Brush the top with milk and bake at 175°c for around 20 to 25 minutes

It's done when it's browned on top and if you tap the base it'll sound hollow

Brush with melted butter while it's still hot for a lovely soft crust

Notes:

If the water/sugar/yeast doesn't foam up then the yeast may be no good or if it's very cold it may require longer.

If you add too much flour then it will be a bit tougher

You can also form them into balls placed just apart and bake as rolls, top with a little grated cheese and diced bacon for something special! I make my rolls with around 60g of raw dough and they back in my oven for 12 minutes.

You'll need to keep an eye on it the first time, all ovens are different so it might take longer, or less time.