Don’t get me wrong. I love sourdough bread and really enjoy the process of feeding the starter, choosing and mixing the flour combination and letting the bread rise several times and prove before baking it.
You end up with a lovely loaf of bread which develops in flavour and texture and has that distinctive sourdough smell and taste.
For information on how to make a sourdough starter and a great sourdough recipe from Chris at the Old Bakery in Cawsand read here.
We filmed and took part in one of Chris's sourdough classes which are brilliant - you can find out more about these on his website here.
And here is the film we made so that you can see Chris at work making wonderful sourdough.
Sourdough is super popular in the US and we supply bread bags to a number of US bakeries. For a quick sourdough recipe from Breadtopia in the US click here for the article I wrote about easy sourdough and no knead sourdough from Denyce, Eric and their family. They are self confessed 'bread freaks'! They, like us, believe that 'home made bread, fresh from the oven, feeds your body and soul like no other food', and work really hard to promote home baking.
Quick Solutions to Homemade Bread
I also know from working with my team, many of whom have young children, that they need quick solutions to achieve a lovely baked loaf of bread.
So, this week I am including Carla’s quick bread recipe.
Carla is our graphic designer, she works part-time, her husband works full-time, they have two children under seven and a puppy. She is definitely someone who manages her time well!
This is her solution to home made bread which can be done around a busy family life.
- 3 cups of plain flour
- 1.5 cups of warm water
- 1/2tsp dried yeast
- BIG pinch of salt flakes
- Pinch of dried oregano
- Extra salt to sprinkle on the top
Mix warm water with yeast until it dissolves. Add it into the bowl with the flour and salt and mix well.
Lightly flour a bench and knead the bread until it forms a perfect ball. Place back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel or one of our lovely large bowl covers.
Leave to rise for 2-3 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees C.
Remove from bowl, sprinkle with herbs and then shape into a ball and place into an oven safe pot. Sprinkle salt flakes on top and cover with a lid.
Cook in the oven for 30 mins, remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
The bottom of the bread should sound hollow when tapped. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
Bread Storage Solutions
Once it’s cool, make sure that you store it in a linen bread bag so that the bread can breathe.
Bread can get hot and sweaty very quickly in a sealed container which is a perfect breeding ground for mould spores and can also make your bread go soggy!
Linen, being a natural fibre, allows the bread to breathe. It is a fabric with a high water content and this in turn helps to keep a good crust. In France, bread bags are used regularly. As home baking and breadmaking become more popular and everyone is more aware of the need to limit the use of plastic and to find ways to be more sustainable.
Bread bags can also be used as an attractive, informal bread basket, just by rolling down the bag. Here is my quick Easter tea time solution!
Our bread bags have a hook, so that you hang them up if you like, which can be convenient if you have limited surfaces or are just tidy by nature.
It’s no surprise that people are turning to linen bread bags, bowl covers and produce bags for food storage, since we are all trying to limit the amount of single use plastic that we use.
It would be great to see your bread bag in use, please feel free to post your bread successes on social media, here are the links to share on Facebook or Instagram.
If you know of any keen bakers who would be interested in this article, don’t hesitate to share it with them!
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