soft bread

[staceyb]

When I make my own bread and rolls how do I get the soft rather than crusty? Is it just a case of longer time on a lower temperature?

[Coq au Vin]

Put a slightly damp tea towel over the bread while it cools. The steam will soften the crust nicely.

A shorter (hotter) bake should help too - it will result in a thinner crust.

[drivin_me_nuts]

Next time you are in the supermarket grab hold of some Barleycorn flour. Make really lovely soft and delicious dough

[staceyb]

Thanks chaps, next mission is to find a recipe for traditional stottie bread.

[Coq au Vin]

staceyb said:

Thanks chaps, next mission is to find a recipe for traditional stottie bread.

Try this one:

500g Strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
300ml water
300g cooked mashed potato
2 tsp fresh yeast (around 3/4 tsp dried yeast)

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. In another bowl, mix the water with potato and yeast then pour into the flour and salt. Stir until you have a sticky dough.

lightly oil the work surface and knead the dough in it for 10 seconds so you end up with a smooth ball. Clean, dry and oil the bowl and leave the dough in it fot 10 minutes. Take the dough out and knead again so you have a smooth ball. Put back in the bowl and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.

Divide dough into 4 and roll each one into a 15cm disc on a lightly floured surface. Lay each disc onto a floured tray. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 45 minutes.

Sift some flour over each loaf and place a clean baking tray on top of the dough so that it is sandwiced between 2 sheets of metal. Bake at 210 C for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe taken from The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard. Anyone with any interest in baking bread should have a copy of this book. Best 10 quid you will ever spend!