It got a rise out of me

Sometimes there is nothing nicer than tucking into a fresh piece of bread, whether just slathered in butter or a chunky homemade sarnie. So a couple of weekends ago I thought I'd give making bread a try for the first time.

My bread after the second
prove, ready to go in the oven

I got the recipe from Jamie Oliver’s cook book ‘Happy Days with the Naked Chef’. Now the first thing to note about this recipe is that it would make a good 2 loaves of bread - I reduced it by 1/4 but in future I would halve it, unless I was having guests (although I suppose you could always freeze a loaf).

With the recipe I made a large loaf. And as an experiment, I added some sultanas to a small piece of dough (kneading it in) to make an oversized roll, which came out very well. Also this recipe didn't achieve a crusty exterior, so this may not be the best recipe if you like crusty bread.

While the overall process of making the bread was easy, it was of course long-winded, and to be honest – although the end result had a great texture, was very tasty and smelled delicious (there really is something about the smell of baking bread) – I struggle to justify spending the time required for just a loaf of bread. Maybe it is just me because I don’t eat huge quantities of it each day. 


Raisin roll - a great light and
fluffy texture

Having said that, both my partner and I enjoyed rather delicious sandwiches for dinner that evening with warm fillets of chicken breast!

However, I do think moving the bread on from just the basic recipe could make the process worth it - Jamie Oliver offers a few ideas, such as a layered foccacia with cheese and rocket, or banana and honey bread - these more speciality type breads ie not necessarily what you can pick up at the bakery or supermarket, I think will have me trying this recipe again. So watch this space for the layered cheese foccacia one day...! 



The final cooked loaf