Quick Loaf

Summer is not merely upon us, rather, it is downright smothering us! This oppressive heat is… wonderful. I love it. Yay summer, yay shorts, and yay baking. Oh wait, not yay baking… It’s far too hot to have the oven on! That’s a real shame…

I made this bread a while ago… Back when I was allowed to eat bread… While I am not meant to be eating bread at the moment, if I did actually make it again, I would definitely break my bread rule. I would just need to make sure I had someone to share it with, otherwise I would eat the whole thing! And that’s really not good for the whole “bikini body” thing everyone is on about…

Ingredients

• 400g white bread flour
• 125g wholewheat flour
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 25g butter
• 250ml warm water
• 175g raw, grated potato
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar
• 5 tsp instant yeast
• Oil for kneading

Method

1. Mix the flours and the salt together and rub the butter through the flour mixture
2. Stir together the warm water, potato, vinegar and yeast, and then add to the flour mixture, using it to bring the dough together
3. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then remove from the bowl onto an oiled surface for kneading. Knead well
4. Return to the bowl and leave to prove for 20 minutes
5. Remove from the bowl, shape (ball or traditional free-form oblong loaf shape), and place on a floured tray. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 20-30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220°C while waiting
6. Dust the loaf with flour, slash it down the middle, and place into the oven, on the middle rack, for 40-50 minutes. You may want to include a bit of steam in the oven by filling a small metal roasting tin with boiling water, and placing it on the lowest shelf (personally I have found that I end up with a soggy bottom when I do this, so I’m not really a fan – the loaf works with and without this step)

Tagged: baking, bread, delicious, flash, food, potato, quick loaf, recipe, wholewheat