Dear ,
I decided to bake bread the other day. The thought had been in my mind for several months, and I bought some dried yeast (1) at the end of last year.
The last loaf (2) I baked was probably about 30 years ago, and it was just normal bread that I could use for sandwiches. This time, I wanted to make focaccia. I had seen some recipes online and wanted to try one out.
However, as there's only one of me to eat it, my idea was to bake something small.
Everything was going well. The yeast started bubbling, so I poured the rest of the water into the bowl.
I was about to add some flour when I remembered I should use one sachet (3) of yeast with 500 g of flour. I placed the bowl on my kitchen scales and started adding flour.
Oh no! This wasn't going to be small. I was making a full-size focaccia!
Too late now.
I mixed the ingredients together and then lifted it out of the bowl and onto my kitchen bench to knead (4) it.
For me, this is the fun part. I like getting flour on my hands and kneading the dough (5). And this dough was so soft.
Moving forward a couple of hours, the dough was in the tray and nearly ready to go into the oven. But first I had to make dimples (6) all over it with my fingers, which was also fun. Then I topped it with olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and freshly chopped rosemary from my balcony.
Into the oven it went. And about half an hour later, out came a focaccia.
I think it was a success - crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. However, a note for next time, I think I need to add more salt and rosemary on the top.
To really decide if it was good or not, I should probably try a 'real' focaccia so that I have a better idea of if it was OK.
Do you like baking bread ? Are your results always good, or do you sometimes have disasters?
Wishing you a week full of freshly-baked goodness,
Andrea
(1) yeast- the microscopic animal that we use to make bread, beer and other things
(2) loaf - a large 'lump' of bread that you can slice
(3) sachet - a small packet or envelope
(4) to knead bread - to 'work' the dough. To stretch the lump a bit then fold it and press it together
(5) dough - the thick paste or mixture of something like bread. This is the word for the bread mixture before it's cooked.
(6) make dimples - make it look like the surface of a golf ball, with little pits everywhere
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