Is bread for dinner a thing? If not, I vote it should be. Because it certainly is in my house today…Why? Because there is nothing better than a good thick slice of freshly baked, homemade bread slathered with butter.
My favourite kind of bread on the planet is traditional wholemeal. Always has been, (likely) always will be. I’m not the biggest fan of those ‘weird’ flavours you can find in supermarkets these days; mediterranean, caramelised onion, olive… For me it’s all about that plain (but still tasty!) crust dusted with flour. Lot’s of flour.
You’re probably thinking this thang is gonna be hard. You’re wrong. Simple in both preparation and ingredients, this is a dump, mix, rise and bake kind of bread.
This is the perfect bread for toast, sandwiches, french toast, and everything in between.
Traditional Wholemeal Bread
Ingredients
- 500 g strong wholewheat bread flour
- 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour yeast and salt, then add in the olive oil together with 300ml of lukewarm water to make a soft dough.
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until the dough no longer feels sticky. You might need to sprinkle it with a little more flour, but make sure the dough isn’t too dry.
- Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with cling film or damp tea towel. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for around 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. The dough should spring back when you gently press it with your finger.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Transfer the dough onto a large baking tray and make several slashes across the top of the loaf. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 30 minutes until gorgeously golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve up warm with a curl of butter! Yummm!
