Free Use Your Loaf: How to bake bread at home and get perfect results by Jason Daly

Introduction
     
    “BREAD IS THE STAFF OF LIFE”
     

     
    Or
so the saying goes. Bread is a staple part of the modern Western diet. Many of
us eat a lot of bread but only a few ever try their hand at baking their own.
Why is this? Is it because it is deemed to be too difficult? Too time
consuming? Too technical? In all honesty it is probably a combination of all
three. But I think the fact that mass produced bread is so readily available
and relatively inexpensive (or was!) is a major factor in today’s high speed
society. The thing is; mass produced bread doesn’t taste that good! I think
that anyone, once they have tried freshly baked, still-warm, handmade bread
will agree. Mass produced bread isn’t bad, it just isn’t that good!
    Bread
comes in many shapes and sizes: bloomer, baguette, brioche, ciabatta, cobber,
chapatti, roti, sourdough to name a few, but in reality there are two kind of
bread – handmade and not handmade (mass produced).
    In
1961 the Chorleywood Bread Process was developed and this revolutionised
baking. A high speed mechanical mixing process was devised and this allowed
reduced fermentation times. It also meant that they could now use British wheat
which was cheaper than American wheat but also had a lower protein content.
    They
also started adding chemical stabilisers, “flavour enhancers” and antifungals
as well as hydrogenated fats. All this had 1 result in mind: maximum efficiency
for maximum profit.
    It
is almost certain that this kind of bread worse for you. As well as all the
additives and fats, the short fermentation results in wheat that is actually
harder to digest and there is some belief that the whole process may be behind
the increase in gluten intolerance and allergy.
    It
is estimated that up to 98% of bread in the UK is mass produced and most come
from a dozen or so huge plant bakeries. And do not be fooled by your supermarket
“in-store” bakery as they are just smaller versions of these plants. Even most
local bakeries are guilty of this. Put it this way, if the bread in your local
bakery looks like everyone else’s (the ubiquitous flat topped white tin loaf),
the chances are it was produced the same way.
    Real
bakeries are magical places. Here bread will be hand baked on site in small
batches. It is easy to tell hand baked bread as it won’t look like the bread
found in other stores. Some may sell their bread to other local shops which is
great. Unfortunately real bakeries are scarce so if you are lucky enough to
have access to one, then use it! The bread will be a little more expensive and
rightly so!
    The
other alternative is to make your own handmade bread at home, and I hope that
by buying this guide you have taken that important decision to give it a go. If
you are still not convinced, look at the simple economics. A large home-baked
loaf can cost less than half the price of mass produced supermarket bread. To
illustrate this, it costs me 55p (ingredients, gas/electric) to produce a large
800g loaf. At the time of writing, the supermarket in-store bakery loaf cost
£1.10, the local shop cost £1.30 and the local “bakery” cost £1.60! As you can
see profit margins are high and they would be even higher with commercial
buying power driving down the cost of the ingredients.
    So get your apron on, dust your hands
with flour and get baking. I assure you, you will never look back.

The basics
    What equipment will I need?
    The good thing about baking your own bread is that you don’t
really need any specialist kit. If you already bake cakes and pastries chances
are you have everything essential that you need:
    Ø   A large mixing bowl
    Ø   Measuring jug
    Ø   Rolling pin
    Ø   Kitchen scales
    Ø   Palette knife
    Ø   Pastry knife
    Ø   Bread knife
    Ø   Wire cooling rack
    Ø   Baking tray (the heavier the better)
    Ø   Black bin bags!
    Ø   Spray bottle
    You will also need some linen cloths or all linen tea-towels.
Linen draws very little moisture so your