The Joys of Life: Baking

Hi all,

I recently discovered that baking bread really is a pleasure of life! The smell in the house, its colours, its warmth ... It really cheers you up on a winter's day.
So, as it's easier than you think, you can all give it a try: you don't need a bread machine, only time and the divine will to knead.
The loaf you can see in the picture above was done with the following ingredients:

- 500g of flour
- 7g of dried yeast (corresponding to a 25g cube of fresh yeast)
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of sugar
- 2 tbsp of olive oil, possibly extra-virgin
- warm water

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients and start gradually to add the water.
Keep on kneading and adding water until you have a smooth, elastic and compact dough. You can also knead it outside of the bowl, as I did after a while because it felt better and I had more space to play around with my creature.
Put the dough in an oil-greased bowl (or on a baking tray), cover it with a clean tea towel, and let it rise for an hour.
You can then take the dough and give it the shape you prefer. Leave it to rise another 30 min. You can now do 3 or 4 cuts on the surface if you want your bread to look like the one above, then place it in a pre-heated oven (200°C) and let it bake for 40-50 minutes.

Let it cool down before eating the bread with whatever you like.
This is a great basic recipe: after trying it once you will start experimenting and baking your perfect bread with the ingredients you prefer.

Happy New Year!