White Bread Loaf

Ingredients

• 500 g Strong white bread flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 7 g Sachet of fast action dried yeast
• 30 ml Olive oil
• 285-300 ml Water

Instructions

1. 1

   Put the flour into a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, then add the salt and yeast on separate sides of the bowl and stir everything together

2. 2

   Add the olive oil and mix it in, then add the water. Different flours have different levels of absorbancy, so add 285ml and mix everything together to form a rough dough. If it's too dry then you can add more water, but you shouldn't need more than 300ml

3. 3

   If you are using your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead the dough, set onto a low speed and leave to knead for 10 minutes

4. 4

   If you are kneading by hand, very lightly dust the work surface with flour, then knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and supple

5. 5

   Lightly oil a bowl (I use a pastry brush to evenly spread the oil all around the bowl), and place the dough in it. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size

6. 6

   Tip the dough out onto your work surface and use your hands to flatten it out into a rectangle shape, roughly the width of your loaf tin

7. 7

   Roll it up from one of the shorter ends, using your thumbs to keep the roll tight and press the dough together. Once it's rolled into a sausage shape, use your fingers to pinch the seam together

8. 8

   Turn the dough over so the seam is on the bottom. Lightly oil your loaf tin (I use a pastry brush to get into all the corners) then pick up the dough and drop it into the tin

9. 9

   Loosely cover the tin with cling film and leave to rise for 30 minutes

10. 10

    Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/220C/425F/Gas Mark 7

11. 11

    After the 30 minutes is up, remove the cling film and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden, risen and the bread sounds hollow when the base is tapped

12. 12

    Allow to cool fully before slicing, then enjoy!

13. 13

    You can freeze the bread, or it is best eaten within 2 days