Bread, my Nemesis

LOVE IT OR LOATHE IT

Bread and I have a love-hate relationship.  I love it and it hates me.

Yes, you heard right.  It hates me, it makes me bloated and lethargic and chesty. But I can't resist freshly baked bread or any good baguette or ciabatta. Slathered with butter and jam, it's heaven in a slice. 

I know I shouldn't eat it but that how strong this love is. But now buying bread while on this Covid19 lockdown😕?! It's right up there with fighting in a war and swimming with sharks- no cages. I mean how do we stop the virus if it's on the bread?

The shops, that frightened voice in my head says, are filled with potentially infected people- you just don't know.  As  I push my disinfectant-smelling trolley to the bakery section to buy a loaf or 2 of bread, I find myself eyeing everyone with suspicion.  I reach out to grab a loaf of bread when I meet the eye of one of the bakers behind the counter.  My mind drifts back a few months ago when she was coughing and sneezing. My hand retracts automatically and reaches for a sanitizer.  

Then I imagine the bakers, all toiling away and that one clown who decides it would funny to cough and sneeze all over the bread as they package  it. I eye the loaves of bread with trepidation - which one could it be? Was the baker infected? What if the bread is infected........arhhhhh there are too many unanswered questions.  I calmly push my trolley out and decide I should rather bake my own bread.

And no, its not difficult nor is it easy..it's somewhere in between.  It's a simple thing though.

Basically, bread is a paste of flour and water, cooked over or surrounded by heat. According to history, the earliest bread was made in or around 8000 BC in the Middle East, specifically Egypt. 

Grain was crushed and the bakers produced what we would recognize as Indian roti/chapatis or Mexican tortillas.

Although we think of bread as made from wheat, it can also be made from virtually any grain. But unless you want a flat bread, you must add wheat as it contains gluten, and it’s sticky gluten that makes the loaf rise.

Try this Basic Bread recipe

Makes 2 loaves

4 cups flour (1 kg) + flour for dusting and kneading 

1 sachet (10g) dry instant yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup warm water 

1 teaspoons salt

1 egg with a little oil- for the eggwash

In a large bowl, sift flour and yeast together.  Whisk oil and sugar and salt until frothy and add to the warm water. Make a hole in the centre of the flour and pour in the oil and water mix. Mix to a soft dough- add more warm water a tablespoon at a time if needed).   Turn out onto a floured surface and knead (pretending you've got play dough and you're trying to make it soft) 

Knead dough for 5 minutes. The dough will be smooth and soft so mould it into a ball and place in a oiled bowl.  Allow to rise in a dark warm place- I use my grocery cupboard.  It's important that there is no wind or cold that can affect the dough .  After an hour the dough will have doubled in size. 

Take it out of the bowl and knead or punch it down again, about 5 min. Divide and shape into 2 loaf pans and allow to rise for another 30 min. Give the loaves a eggwash and bake at 220 degrees for 10 min, then lower the heat to 180 degrees for another 30 min.  

The bread should be golden brown, the crust sounds hollow when you tap it.  I can smell it now.

There you have it.  You can bake bread yourself and it will cost you less and taste better.