Just four simple ingredients. Mix, leave, bake, eat. It couldn’t be easier, but I’m always a bit skeptical about things that appear easy on TV.
So I got a big bowl, mixed together a tablespoon of sea salt flakes, a kilo of Baker’s Flour, a tablespoon of dried yeast and 950ml of lukewarm water. Cover it with cling wrap and place in the fridge. Leave overnight, or in my case, leave while I went to work for the day. (I guess it depends when you begin!) Anyway, roughly 6-8 hours more or less.
Whoopie! Looking good! So I preheated my oven to 220C while allowing the dough to get to room temperature. Prepared 2 baking trays with baking paper and heavily floured them as the dough is very wet. Dollop half the mixture on one tray for a big loaf and I made rolls with the second half of the dough. You can’t mould this dough. Just drop it in lumps on the tray as best you can. You know, in true non-chef’ style.
They took about 45 minutes to an hour to bake. Give them a knock on the base to check if they are cooked through. If they sounds hollow, you are done.
I was pretty thrilled. They looked just like Matt’s and tasted unbelievable! The middle was soft and had lots of air bubbles which I love. The crust was crisp and chewy all at once.
I have renamed it ‘Brilliant Bread’. Nothing better than fresh, warm bread with butter. I polished off two rolls before you could say “no carbs after lunchtime”. Oh well. Just between you and me, it was so worth it!
I think everybody should have a go at making this bread. It was so easy, so delicious and so gourmet!
Photo: Antoinette Schultz
