Saturday 18 January 2014

Weekly Bread 1&2/52

They say great minds think alike.  Well, having decided back in December that I would like to bake a loaf a week during 2014, I discovered that Lou Archell over at Littlegreenshed had been inspired by the same idea.  Only she's more efficient than me and turned it into a project to share with other bloggers.  You can read all about it here and join in the fun.


I baked my first loaf last Saturday, the same one I'd baked on Christmas Day.  It was a no knead white loaf baked in a Le Creuset casserole.  You can find the recipe here.  I followed it to the letter, except that although I used fast acting yeast I pre-activated it in warm water with a little sugar before adding it to the flour.  It's just as easy as it looks and produces a wonderfully crusty loaf.


Today I baked my second loaf, an Irish soda bread, which we ate for lunch alongside a bowl of leek and potato soup.  Very appropriate!  The recipe came from Paul Hollywood's book entitled 100 Great  Breads, which I bought for £3 from the book man who drops off a boxful of books at our office every month or so.  It should keep me going through the challenge.

3 comments:

  1. I like the sound of your bread-y challenge, we're hoping to make more bread this year and I've been eyeing a no knead recipe to get started with. Your loaves look lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The no knead recipe has the advantage of being quick and easy but I have to admit to missing the 10 minutes spent pushing and stretching and feeling the dough become increasingly smooth and elastic under my hands. Very therapeutic.

      Delete
  2. Those both look glorious! I'm thinking I may need to get hold of another bread book at some point during the year as my River Cottage one is going to be gone in no time at the rate I'm baking!

    ReplyDelete