This post has been written by my incredible boyfriend, who loves baking bread and always bakes something from bread week on GBBO. Although a few weeks behind, he baked the technical challenge from week 3 of the 2017 series of GBBO, which was a Cottage loaf, and I hope you enjoy his recipe :)
Ingredients:
• 500g Strong white flour
• 7g dried yeast
• 7g salt
• 50g lard
• 350ml water
• Teaspoon of oil
Instructions:
1 - Put the flour into a bowl, add the yeast to one side of the bowl and then the salt to the other side.
• Top Tip : If salt is added on top of the yeast it will kill the yeast and prevent the bread rising in later stages.
2 – Cut the lard into small cubes and add to the mixture
3 – Slowly add the water and start combining everything in the bowl with your hands.
• Top Tip : You may not need to use all the water, the mixture shouldn't be too wet.
4 – Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes.
5 – Place the kneaded dough into a bowl and cover with either a tea towel of cling film. Leave to grow until it is double in size. This can take anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of the room. The warmer it is the faster the dough will rise.
6 – Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently fold to remove excess air.
7 – Split the dough into 2 pieces, roughly 1/3 and 2/3 in size. Shape both pieces into balls and flatten slightly so they won't roll away.
8 – Place the big piece onto a baking tray and then place the small ball on top.Then drive two fingers from top to bottom through the middle of both pieces. This will help stop the top piece falling off the top during baking.
9 – Loosely cover with cling film or place the baking tray inside a large plastic bag and leave to prove for another hour.
• Top Tip : The classic cottage loaf has shallow cuts made horizontally around both balls of dough. Add these after the second prove if you wish.
10 – Remove the bag/cling film, dust the dough slightly with flour and put into a preheated fan oven at 210C for 15 minutes
• Top tip : Add a tray filled with water to the bottom of the oven, the steam will help the bread cook on the inside and prevent burning the outside.
11 – After 15 minutes lower the oven temperature to 170C and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Top Tip : Keep an eye on the bread during the last 5 minutes of baking, everyones oven is different so the cooking times can vary massively. The bread should be golden brown on the outside. When you take it out flip it upside down and tap the bottom with your fingers, if it sounds hollow it's ready. If not, put it back in the oven for another few minutes.
Best recipe ever
ReplyDelete