After a few years now of watching the Great British Baking Show, I decided to try my hand at bread again. Thanks to Paul Hollywood’s tips and tricks, I actually felt knowledgeable enough to know what I was looking for when kneading bread, and to understand that it really does take a non-trivial amount of time and physical effort to knead by hand (10 mins if you’re wondering). The end result was well worth it though.

Basic Bread Loaf (Cob Style)

Ingredients

  • 500g strong bread flour
  • 10g yeast
  • 10g salt
  • 30g butter at room temp
  • 320ml water at room temp

Optional

  • 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary

Directions

Put the flour in a large bowl. Add in the salt, yeast and butter spaced evenly around the bowl. If adding rosemary, add that now too. Work into a wet dough by slowly trickling in the water, being careful not to make it too terribly sticky. Once it’s a good consistency, dump the dough onto a lightly oiled countertop and knead for about 10mins until the gluten strands are developed and the dough is nice and stretchy. Place into an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, usually about 90mins but if my kitchen is cool it might be a few hours.

Once doubled, turn the dough out onto that same oiled surface. Knock down the dough and really punch all the big air bubbles out, aiming for a bit of a rectangle shape. Roll tightly and put the seam to the bottom, then tighten the cob by pulling the outer dough down the sides and tucking it underneath. Once the shape is taut, place on the baking sheet and let rise again until doubled, about another hour to 90 mins.

Finally, heat the oven to 425F, or 450F for a really crispy crust. Bake the loaf for around 30mins. The internal temperature should reach 190F, and the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let cool fully before cutting to keep proper moisture level.