Having watched the Great British Bake Off for a few years I decided it was about time I learnt to make bread. I have tried in the past and produced the odd brick, even the pre-mixed packets haven’t really worked for me and I don’t have space for a bread maker.
My sons took my comments on board and for Christmas bought me Paul Hollywood’s How to Bake along with a number of Mary Berry cake books.
With no more excuses and time on my hands yesterday I set to and had another go following the basic white tin bread recipe. I like this book as it explains as much as is possible how to knead, what you are looking for and what to expect it to look like. I learnt that you should keep salt and yeast separate in the bowl or they cancel each other. The book has masses of recipes for all sorts of baking and I intend to work my way through it slowly by surely. The style is friendly, chatty and very informative.
As for my first attempt – the result is an OK loaf of bread. It smells good, tastes like bread although it is a little dense in texture. Not a bad start and it is disappearing fast always a good sign.
