Olive Oil Bread

I’ve been a bit quiet recently on the blog. I have been baking but it all got a bit busy and emotional, so the writing got left behind. My Uncle died suddenly at the end of April and it’s been very difficult to drum up energy for anything outside of work and prior commitments.  

However the baking goes on and very excitingly I managed to arrange a ‘Sausage Roll Day’ at work where we had about eight people baking around 10 different types of sausage roll. It was epic! It’s exciting to see people get worked up about baking (or it is for me) and as someone who is seen to ‘know’ about baking I get lots of questions and enthusiasm from people when they see that it’s not actually that hard. 

My neighbour, knowing I bake, gave me some fresh yeast so I decided to make bread. I’ve never used fresh yeast before but I highly recommend it. Very easy to use and the bread was great. The method below looks a bit long winded, and it does have more steps, but you’ll spend less time fiddling with the dough. Rather than 2 x 5-7 minutes of kneading your total time is more like 2 minutes. I believe it’s the method Dan Lepard (?) uses, or my bastardised version, as I read it on a Guardian baking blog and thought it sounded interesting. It is and I recommend it whole heartedly. I hate kneading so this is bliss. 

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour

15g fresh yeast (I have no idea where you get this unless you live near my neighbour who had some)

300ml warm water (100ml boiling to 200ml cold)

2 tbsp olive oil 

1.    Crumble the fresh yeast into the flour and use your finger tips to distribute it throughout the flour. Much like you would mix butter into the pastry.

2.    Add the oil to the water and pour into the centre of the flour mixture. Mix until it comes together as a dough.

3.    Then knead for 15 seconds vigorously in the bowl. Then cover with a tea towel and leave for 15 minutes. Then do another 15 seconds. Leave for 15 minutes and then a final 15 seconds of kneading before covering again and leaving for an hour or so somewhere warm.

4.    Once it’s puffed up and doubled in size turn it out onto a floured surface. Stretch the dough out into a big square (random I know but stick with me). It’s best if you start this from the middle underneath, stretching to the sides before pulling the sides out. It doesn’t need to be perfect as all you need to be able to do with it is this: fold the bottom third into the middle, then the top third over the bit you just folded. Then repeat long ways. Just watch the video below! (Sorry it's using a paper towel and not dough).

5.    Once this is done pop into the bowl, cover and leave for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes do the same again, leave for 20 minutes in a covered bowl and then do it again. After this final third folding shape and place on a baking tray. Cover the dough and leave in a warm place for an hour or so to double in size. Oiled cling film is best I find.

6.    Preheat the oven to 190°C/GM5. Once the dough has risen, uncover, slash some cuts in the top if you like and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes. You might need another 5 and if a gas oven then turn half way through to get an even colour on top.

7.    Eat warm, ideally, with lashings of butter. Or bring into work and see it demolished. Or make two smaller loaves, rather than one big one and give one to the neighbour who gave you the yeast.