This is such a great basic bread recipe to have at hand. It requires minimal hands on time and just a little rising time. Make it as one long or round loaf or split and cut it as I did to make some really fun tear & share mini loaves.
Crusty Tear & Share Loaves
This is such a great basic bread recipe to have at hand. It requires minimal hands on time and just a little rising time. Make it as one long or round loaf or split and cut it as I did to make some really fun tear & share mini loaves.
Share via Email
Share on Facebook
Ingredients
- 1½ tsp Instant dry yeast
- 2¾ Cups Bread Flour* I used stoneground, unbleached, coarse white bread flour*¾
- 1 Cup Luke warm water
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, flour, water, salt and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Use a spatula to roughly combine the ingredients. Let rest for 15 minutes to activate the yeast
- Attach the dough hook and knead on medium for 5 minutes or do this by hand on a slightly floured surface
- If too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour a teaspoon at a time until a smooth dough ball forms
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft free, place
- After the first hour of rising time, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface to shape. Use your hands to shape it into a loaf (feel free to make it round, oval or baguette shaped)
- If you would like to make the ears of wheat shaped tear & share loaves as I did. Split the dough into three equal sized portions and shape into a thin long log, around 3 cm in diameter by around 25 cm long
- Once shaped, place the dough onto a well floured piece of baking paper, flour the top of the dough and lightly cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour in a warm, draft free, place
- During this final rising time, preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a large flat baking sheet in the middle of the oven as well as a second deeper baking sheet/dish on the bottom rack. These need to preheat as well
- If making a standard loaf, cut a slit or three across the top of the dough and place in the oven to bake. If making this tear & share version, use a pair of clean kitchen scissors to cut the dough. Start around 2cm from on end and cut into the dough at a 45 degree angle. Cut as deep as possible without cutting all the way through. Move the point that's created by cutting to one side. Make the next cut around 5cm from the first. Move that point to the opposite side. Repeat every 5cm until you reach the end. Do the same for the remainder of the dough
- To bake, transfer the dough, still on the baking paper, to the preheated baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven (I prefer to do the transfer outside the oven to reduce the chance of burning myself). Next, pour a cup of water into the bottom baking sheet or dish and quickly close the door to ensure the steam doesn't escape. The steam helps to produce a nicer crust
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until browned and crusty
- Let cool on a wire rack before serving
Notes
*If you’d like a whole wheat or rye loaf instead, use 1 Cup white flour and 1¾ Cups whole wheat or rye flour
Tried this recipe?Post your pics and tag us at @my_homemade_kitchen_za or #myhomemadekitchen!
Leave a Reply