Page 22 - YC Cooking School

1. Add the flour to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer with the dough

hook attachment in place.
2. Add the yeast to the one side of your mixing bowl and the salt to the other. The salt
can damage the yeast if they have too much direct contact.
3. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Slowly drizzle in about half of the water and mix until the
mixture starts to form a rough dough. Continue adding in more water until all of the
flour is incorporated, the sides of the bowl are clean and you have a workable dough.
4. Knead for 7–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and when rolled into a
ball it springs back if you gently press it with your finger.
5. Rub the dough with a little olive oil and place it into a bowl. Cover with a clean tea
towel and leave to rise until approximately double in size, this will take about 45

minutes to an hour.
6. Remove your dough from the bowl, lightly flour your work surface and gently press
out the air using the heel of your hand (this is called ‘knocking back’ the dough). Give
your dough a quick second kneading.
7. Form the dough into a rough loaf shape, folding it into thirds. Place the dough into a
lightly greased large loaf tin, fold side down, and leave to prove again for a further 45
minutes to an hour, covered with a tea towel. About halfway through this time,
preheat your oven to 200ºC (392ºF).

8. Gently flour the surface of your loaf and add two or three slashes with a very sharp
knife (optional) then place the loaf tin in the oven. Then to the bottom of your oven
add a handful of ice cubes to a shallow oven tray. The ice cubes will release steam and
give your dough a good rise and your loaf a nice crispy crust.
9. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the loaf makes a hollow knocking sound when tapped
on the underside with your knuckles.

Notes

The bread can also be made in a free-form loaf, placed on a floured baking tray and baked
as per the instructions above. For a slightly smaller loaf, use 500g flour; 10g yeast; 300ml
lukewarm water; 1 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp olive oil.

© Recipe copyright of Sarah Graham

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