Bread: One Basic Recipe for Country Loaves, Focaccia and Wholemeal Bread
I am often asked which recipe I use when baking bread and how I go about it. I start with a basic recipe from Jamie Oliver, but have adapted it to suit the way I bake.
The recipe makes a moist, flavourful bread with a pleasant sweetness and a little saltiness. It can be used for country loaves, focaccia and traditional homemade bread. The main things that change are the type of flour, the baking time and any added flavours.
Basic recipe
- 1 kg wheat flour
- 30 g sugar
- 30 g salt
- 600 ml cool water
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, such as rapeseed or sunflower oil
- ¼–½ sachet dried yeast
- 1 g amylase
Kneading and temperature
I always use cool or cold water and knead for a long time. An hour or more can be perfectly fine. The temperature of the dough rises during kneading. If you start with lukewarm or warm water, the dough can therefore become too warm. This may weaken or kill the yeast, and you will often end up using more yeast than necessary. That does not give as good a flavour.
I prefer a dough that is slightly on the wet side rather than a dry dough. The long kneading helps develop a strong gluten network. This enables the dough to retain more of the CO₂ produced by the yeast, resulting in a lighter loaf.
What does amylase do?
Amylase is an enzyme that, put simply, breaks starch down into simpler sugars. The yeast can convert these more easily into alcohol and CO₂.
In practice, this means you can use less yeast and still get a good rise. The benefits are less yeast flavour and a lighter bread. Amylase is sold in some Norwegian supermarkets under the name «Luftigere bakst» and can also be bought online.
«Luftigere bakst» also contains ascorbic acid, which helps strengthen the gluten network further. Traditionally, a drop or two of acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, could be used to achieve some of the same effect.
Country loaf
For a country loaf, I shape the dough into one or two large loaves and leave them to rise for about 45 minutes. I score a pattern into the crust, partly for decoration and partly to create areas that bake a little harder and develop a good crunch.
Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C for about 45 minutes, or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.
For a crisper crust, pour a little cold water into the bottom of the oven to create steam. You can repeat this a couple of times during baking. Cool the bread on a wire rack under a cloth.
Focaccia
For focaccia, I place the dough directly in the tins it will be baked in and leave it to rise for about 45 minutes. I then pour over a generous amount of olive oil and press it into the dough with my fingertips to make dimples.
Add your preferred topping. I often use sea salt, garlic and rosemary, but you can vary this to taste.
Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Reduce the temperature to 200°C when the bread goes in and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the focaccia has the colour you want. I like it golden, but not too dark.
Wholemeal bread
For a more traditional wholemeal loaf, I replace either half or all of the white wheat flour with wholemeal flour. I also add about 30–40 g linseeds and 30–40 g sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Bake the loaves in well-greased loaf tins in a preheated oven at 175°C for about 40 minutes. They are ready when golden, hollow-sounding when tapped and light when lifted.
Cool on a wire rack under a cloth.
If you prefer less sugar and salt, you can of course reduce the quantities. I would not remove either completely, however. Both contribute to the flavour.