July is winter. July is frosty mornings. July is pulling the curtains closed in the afternoon, wrapping yourself in a blanket and dunking freshly baked bread in hot soup. I’m lucky enough to have memories of making bread with Mum in the winter school holidays: measuring the flour; making a well in the dry ingredients to add the wet; covering the bowl and putting it in the hot water cupboard to rise. I remember learning to knead the dough and how quickly my arms grew tired. I remember wondering if all mums had such strong, tireless arm muscles, or if it was just mine. I remember Mum breaking off lumps of dough for my brothers and me to make shapes from. I remember learning to divide the dough into three parts, rolling three long sausages, and plaiting it carefully, squeezing the ends together, brushing our creations with milk before sliding the tray into the oven.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love the smell of freshly
baked bread. And the pleasure of making your own is something we can all
experience; all you need are a few ingredients, access to an oven (or skillet
for flatbreads), and a bit of patience.
The potential variations are endless, but a basic bread
needs just four ingredients: flour, yeast, salt and water. And of course, you
can find recipes that don’t even need the yeast. People around the world have
been making bread with just flour and water for thousands of years. For those
who don’t do gluten, you can swap out the wheat flour for any number of
alternatives. Gluten-free flours often have a different texture, so it’s best to
use a specifically gluten-free recipe, or experiment with different combinations
of ingredients to produce a bread you like.
Of the different stages of making bread, the rising and
proving stages take the most time, but you can leave the yeast to do its thing.
Hands-on time is usually around an hour.
If you’re looking for books in the library, the call number
to go to is 641.815. There are so many options, from books full of breadmaker
recipes, to artisan, sourdough, and gluten-free bread books, and books for
complete beginners.
My favourite homemade savoury bread is rosemary and sea salt
focaccia, and for sweet, I love a cinnamon and brown sugar Swedish tea ring. So
what will you make?
Here’s a recipe for crumpets from The New Zealand Bread Book by
Kiwi legends Simon and Alison Holst.
Crumpets (makes 10)
Ingredients
1½ cups hot water
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp granulated yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 cups (280g) plain flour
1 tsp salt
Method
In a large bowl, mix the hot water and milk together.
Sprinkle in the yeast and sugar, and leave to stand in a warm place until the
surface bubbles, usually 5-10 minutes.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the four and salt in 10
second bursts on high, until it feels warm (2-3 bursts of 10 seconds each).
Add the warmed flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir
vigorously for several minutes. Cover the bowl and leave to stand in a warm
place for about 30 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and has doubled in size. Do
not stir the risen mixture.
Heat a well-buttered or sprayed frypan to 150°C (lower
than you would use for pikelets), and spray or butter some 10cm rings (egg
rings or tin cans with the ends cut off). Place the rings in the frypan and
spoon the dough in to 1cm deep.
Cook crumpets for about 5 minutes each. The crumpet texture is
created by bubbles rising through the dough to create tunnels. The baking ring
can be removed once the edges have set (3-4 minutes), and once the top is set,
turn the crumpets and cook for 1-2 minutes to dry the surface.
Cool on a rack, and brown under a grill or in a toaster before
eating with your favourite toppings.
Does it get any better than butter and golden syrup soaking
through a warm crumpet?
