This recipe fits the routine of a working week. The yoghurt adds bacteria that multiply in the long fermentation, increasing the acidity which releases nutrients from the fibre. There's a signed copy of Andrew Whitley's excellent how-to book on slow baking, "Bread Matters" (4th Estate, 2006) for you to win. Photograph your latest baking, bread or pastry, and email it to guardian@danlepard.com to enter. To see the entries go to www.danlepard.com/guardian
11 April - We have a winner:
And the winner is...dah, dah, daaaah....
1st Yuliya Lebedev, (for the ciabatta bubbles)
Runners up were John Pidgeon (for the wedding ring in the dough) and Susan Abbs (for the Green Fairy Cakes).
Judges were:
Bob Granleese, page editor, Guardian weekend magazine
Maggie Murphy, art director, Guardian weekend magazine
and myself
for the ferment
375ml-400ml warm water (30C)
1 tbsp live yoghurt
1 tsp active dry yeast
150g strong white flour
150g wholemeal, spelt or rye flour
for the dough
1 tsp barley malt extract or brown sugar
300g strong white flour
2 level tsp salt
At about 8am place the warm water, yoghurt and yeast in a 3-pint bowl. Stir until dissolved then add the flour and mix to a smooth batter. Cover and leave on the kitchen worktop until 7pm or after. Then stir the malt (or sugar), add the flour and salt and stir to a sticky soft dough. Leave the dough for 15 minutes then lightly oil your hands and the worksurface and knead the dough for about 10 seconds. Repeat at 15 minutes intervals for 45 minutes then shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl lined with a heavily floured cloth. Leave chilled (at 4-6C) for 24 hours, then take out and leave until doubled in size.
Get the oven to 220C (fan assisted), roll the dough carefully onto a floured baking tray, slash the top, bake for 25 minutes then bake for 20 minutes longer at 180C.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- I think that as the weather starts getting warmer you can look at reducing the yeast. As spring kicks in this month, try reducing the yeast to 3/4 tsp and when summer arrives drop the yeast to 1/2 tsp. You'll know when you need to reduce it when the loaf gets too puffy at the end of its 24 hours rise. This is the recipe I use at home, about twice a week, to make our "house" bread. Here are some tips to think about to make sure the loaf is perfect:
- Use the upper amount of water when you feel more confident with soft sticky dough and you'll get a more open texutre in the loaf.
- If the bread has doubled during the time in the fridge just bake from chilled
- Be really carelful when you roll the dough out from the bowl onto the tray. Think of it like a big fragile puffy bubble that needs delicate handing to stop it deflating. Get your oven ready, roll it quickly and gently onto a well floured tray, try slashing it with a razor blade (without slashing your fingers or hand in the process, be very careful) , then get it in the oven
- For the first 15 minutes try keeping the oven temperature as hot as it will go, even if this raises the temperature to 250C. This initial burst of heat will help as the dough will be quite tired at the end of the 24 hour rise
- Here is a loaf I made from the recipe 4 weeks ago:
Dan x
