Easy Bread

Monday 16 September 2013

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I have never made any pretense about my inability to bake a decent loaf of bread.  It's true.  I am the most pathetic bread baker ever.   My ex husband used to bake beautiful big fluffy loaves of bread.  I've said it before and I'll say it again . . .   I bake doorstops.   

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That is, until now.   I found this recipe online for "Easy Bread."   Just google it and you will come up with all sorts of blogs that have done it, but it's pretty much the same recipe on them all.  And it's truly E-A-S-Y!  I kid you not!

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It is soooooo easy a child could make it.  There is no kneading or effort involved.  All you do is stir the ingredients together, cover it with plastic cling film and then leave it to sit overnight.

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Then you pop it into a hot pot and bake it, first covered and then uncovered.  The end result is a beautiful loaf of bread!  Seriously!

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The end result is a beautifully rustic looking loaf that will have your family and friends thinking you are a genius baker!  And all you did really, was stir a few bits together and bang them in a pan.

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*Easy Bread*
Makes one loaf
Printable Recipe

Easy bread, no knead bread, overnight bread, call it what you will.  It's all of these and more and it's one pretty darned good loaf of bread!
3 cups strong bread flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
olive oil

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(This is what my sponge looked like after sitting for 15 hours.)

Measure the flour into a large bowl.  Whisk in the yeast and salt, then whisk in the water.  You will have a shaggy gloopy mixture.  No worries.   Cover the bowl tightly with cling flim and leave it to sit overnight, for 14 to 16 hours preferably.

When you are ready to bake it preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/gas mark 7.  Place a heavy casserole with a lid in the oven.  (I use my medium Le Creuset one)  Dump the bread mixture out of the bowl onto a generously floured surface and using wet hands kind of shape it into a ball..  (It will be really stick, but if you hands are wet it won't stick as much to them.)

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(Mine didn't make much of a ball, it just kind of spread out as you can see, but not to fear, it still worked out great!  You really can't fail with this.) 

 Cover with cling film and let it rest for about 25 to 30 minutes.   Remove the pot from the oven.  Add a dollop of olive oil and swirl it around the bottom and partially up the sides carefully.  It will sputter, but that's ok.

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Dump the lump of dough into the hot pot, cover it with the lid and then bang it into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and then bake it for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and the crust sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom.  Dump out onto a wire rack to cool.  The crust will make crackling noises as it cools down.

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This is a really lovely rustic looking loaf.  In short "perfect," and it was easy peasy.   What's not to like about that?

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This was the perfect excuse to use the new bowl scraper that was sent to me by the people at ProCook.  With such a sticky dough I despaired of cleaning it out of the bowl easily, but this beautiful little silicone scraper did a wonderful job of cleaning it out!   Made non-stick silicone with a stainless steel insert for strength it did the trick perfectly and it's also dish washer safe!  What a wonderful little tool and right now you can buy one on their site for only £3.50.  They also sent me a nifty green silicone funnel.



I haven't used it yet, but it will come in very handy for all sorts of things and because of it's softness doesn't take up a lot of space in my utensil drawer.   It is also non-stick, dishwasher safe and measures about 5 inches in diameter.  You can buy one on their site for £2 at the moment. 

Many thanks to  the ProCook people and Wildcard PR for sending me these nifty little tools to play with.   Love them!

14 comments

  1. I have made this sort of bread before. It works but seems so sloppy.

    I made three loaves of bread yesterday. The kids are gobbling it down.

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  2. Oooo...this looks good! I've been experimenting a bit more with bread baking, or trying to... as I've bake many a weird, non-edible loaf too... LOL! This looks like a good one to try. Thank you, Marie! ((LOVE & HUGS))

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  3. This looks great - it is ages since I have made bread by hand as I have a bread maker (please don't hate me!) this recipe is a good incentive to give the old fashioned way another try! Thanks for sharing Marie.

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  4. I've been buying shop bought bread (yuk!)since my breadmaker broke last year. We've tried, and failed to produce a decent home made loaf. So I'm going to give this a whirl tomorrow. Wish me luck! Thanks for sharing this Marie.

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  5. Bread with a crunch crust and holes on the inside is absolutely fabulous.
    This is a recipe I can't wait to try, Marie!

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  6. I hope you all do try it. It's a lovely loaf and won't last long. I had my doubts when I saw how sloppy the sponge was, but they were all in vain as it was a gorgeous loaf and one I will make again and again!

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  7. amjaylou come back and let us know how you get on with it!

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  8. I definitely will! Would you mind if I give this a mention on my blog please - obviously I will refer back to your site.

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  9. Not at all amyjaylou! Feel free. I'll pop over and have a look to see how you made out so do let me know! xx

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  10. Yay!! You made bread!! And it's gorgeous!! I'm so happy for you :) this is a lot like the Dutch oven bread I made, which is one of my favorites, I'm so glad you found one that worked! It increases your bread confidence, doesn't it? I'm telling you, once you get a few that turn out, it gets addicting!

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  11. Well Marie I made this loaf today and it is so delicious! Hurrah for success. I would like to add yes it may be easy but boy oh boy it got messy. Do you have to cover with cling film when resting for 30 mins or can you cover with a bowl? My husband is making another tonight- half of it's gone already! Will post a blog about it soon. Thanks for sharing this Marie x

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  12. You can cover it with a bowl amjaylou! Just so long as it is covered and yes, it is messy! I despaired when I saw how "slack" the dough was. I almost threw it away thinking this is never going to work, but I threw it in the casserole anyways and it turned out beautifully! So glad you did too and that you are enjoying it!

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  13. Never, ever had any luck with bread making. Been looking unsuccessfully for frozen bread dough. Now, you come along and give me confidence again. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. Emma, if I can make this successfully, anyone can! You can do it!

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