Sunday 5 October 2008

Honey Bread

As promised, the picture.
There's a pity there is no scratch 'n' sniff option with computers. This smells lovely!

No picture yet because it is still proving in my airing cupboard but this is a lovely loaf. It is very sweet for bread but not sweet enough to be called a yeasted cake. I am taking it to evening service today as it is harvest festival.

1lb of strong white flour, though I have made this with plain too, I don't think it matters that much
1 sachet of dried yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or you can rub 1.5 oz of butter into the flour before the wet ingredients are added
10 fl oz milk warmed
2 medium eggs beaten
3 tablespns organic honey (organic honey tastes better by miles)

  • Plonk the dry ingredients in a very large bowl, glass for preference as it holds the warmth. Add the oil, honey, eggs and milk and mix together, first with a fork and then with your hands. Knead it for about five or ten minutes. The texture should change from sticky to pliable silkiness. Add more flour if it feels too sticky.
  • Then cover it with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place for about an hour and a half until it has doubled in size. (See the need for a large bowl!) You can leave this to prove over night too, only leave it in the kitchen rather than somewhere warm like your airing cupboard otherwise it will spill over the bowl and make a mess all over your clean linen!
  • Split the dough into three roughly equal pieces, roll into a long sausage, about the same width as...well ...as a sausage and then holding one end, plait the three sausages together in memory of the trinity.
  • Place on a lightly oiled baking tray and brush the loaf with some milk. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 C for 30 minutes until it is toasty golden.

Really this is good enough to eat on its own but the addition of home made plum jam is just heavenly. I'll put a picture up when it is out of the oven.

Have a honey scented day won't you...

12 comments:

Technodoll said...

I have yet to successfully make bread... it used to be a goal of mine but now all I want is to buy a bread machine.

I could live on fresh bread alone. Sigh. Heaven. Please don't post a photo or I might chew on my laptop monitor.

Sian said...

Technodoll: Bread machines don't work very well. There's nothing to doing it by hand, you are probably not kneading the dough for long enough. It needs about 10-15 minutes of pounding but the dough goes really silky under your hands. I love making bread :o)

Anonymous said...

When it comes to bread, I'm definitely more of an eater than a baker. This loaf looks simply delicious, and perfect for a harvest fest. It's time for breakfast over here, and now that I've seen this post, nothing in my kitchen is going to quite "do it" for me...

Technodoll said...

Great, now you posted a photo and my computer has teeth marks on it.

Sigh.

drool
drool
drool
drool

Gina said...

There's nothing nicer than the smell of freshly baked bread. I make most of mine in a bread machine but I think I'm going to have to do this one the 'old fashioned' way. I'll have to pop on our local farn shop to get some honey.

Love and hugs Gina xxx

Sa said...

The bread was lovely but your hubby polished it off before the worship was over!

Lorraine said...

Sian- I used to make alot of bread, it is definitely a lost art.

That looks scrummy.

Anonymous said...

very nice to. your the girls kept feeding me with bread after church and everybody around me.

Kim said...

Oooh yummy, that looks good. I make all my bread by hand and gave my machine away a couple of months ago. The only equipment I want to get is a nice shallow wooden bowl as it makes the whole process much easier. I always think that it gives my arms a good work out and if I suck my tummy in whilst kneading then all the better ;)

Kim x

Pippa said...

YUM! That looks soooooo delicious!

Nicole said...

Looks lovely! I'll have to try your recipe - it's been too long since I've made bread by hand. It's been all the bread machine lately (which isn't quite the same, but is still better than store-bought).

Ms_T said...

Mmmm now that looks good enough to eat :)
My eldest has been doing a bit of baking in school, his teacher said he is a baker in the making, of bread made the real way of course. He made a fab Tear n' Share bread the other week. Wish I'd photographed it now (:
This coming Monday is Pizza so looking forward to that!
Looking forward to seeing your next make x