Give us this day...

It has been a long time since I wrote and for that I apologise - life has been so very hectic during the last month.
One of the things which I have most enjoyed over the last 5 months is making my own bread. I must encourage everybody to do the same. I too put up all the usual excuses - "I don't have the time" "it works out very expensive" "will it be any good?" and so on. However, once you begin to make your own and play around with a few basic recipes I promise you it becomes addictive (in a good way, of course).
In terms of the time it takes: You have to be around for an hour and a half or so, but only 15 minutes of that is actually spent doing anything. This is perfect for a weekend afternoon or even an evening during the week.
A 1.5 Kilo bag of good strong bread flour will cost less than £2 (this will make 3 medium sized loaves) add to that 80p for other ingredients and your homemade loaf comes in at about 70p. If you can buy an organic, artisan loaf for that little - please tell me where!
The quality of your loaf is up to you - if you are prepared to spend a little time working out what best works for you then the quality will often be better than what is available to buy.
It is also nice to know exactly what went into your daily bread.
Well that's the technical stuff, so what about the emotional stuff? Bread is culturally vital (and I use the word "vital" in its true sense). It is the "Staff of life", most food cultures in the world have a basic starch (potato, maize, rice, pasta) but nearly all of them also have a bread. It is a basic human desire to make and eat bread with family and friends. As for the making of bread I simply ask if there is a more soothing, tactile, life affirming action than the kneading of an organic, GM free loaf?
I have been so excited by the making of bread that for the Easter period I even made Hot Cross Buns. Why do supermarkets insist on selling these all year round? They are supposed to be a seasonal treat - If you fancy them in August then get rid of the cross and call them "Tea cakes" (minor rant over).
If you want to buy a book with simple and "work every time" recipes then you wont go far wrong with the Breads and Bakes book in the series produced under "The best kept Secrets of the Women's Institute", it is written by Carrie O'Regan and Jill Brand. Incidentally the WI book on Jams, Pickles and Chutneys by Midge Thomas is also very good indeed.
And so to my basic White Bread recipe. This one only needs a single rise and does not require knocking back.

White Bread
1lb Strong White Bread Flour
10floz Hand warm water
1oz Butter
1tsp (heaped) Easy blend (or Quick) yeast (I use Doves farm)
1tsp Salt

Sift the flour into a bowl. add the yeast, butter and salt. Rub the butter in as you would a pastry. Add two thirds of the watter and mix in with a knife. Slowly add the rest of the water and get your hands in there! When the dough has come together, pop it on a floured surface and kneed for 10 full minutes. Your dough should feel springy and soft. Shape your dough into a ball or put it in a suitable oiled loaf tin with oiled cling film over it (a tea towel will also do this job) and allow it to rise in a quiet warm spot till it has doubled in size. This is the magic bit and should take about 40 minutes. Dust the top with flour. Pop it in to a hot oven for about 35 minutes until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Allow it to cool on a wire rack.

Once you have done this loaf, the world is your mollusc. Try different flours, adding seeds, bran, olives, onions, sun dried tomatoes, nuts.......