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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 14. June 12 1978

Cooking

page 18

Cooking

Bread Making and Eating

With a little patience and time you can make bread as good as the commercially prepared product. It is, I am sure, symptomatic of our age that fewer and fewer people have enough time to make bread. Many are too busy earning money for a colour television set or holiday. Bread-making is time-consuming, but what could be better than having time to talk and laugh with friends or family and then sharing hot butter-dripping crusty bread with them?

There are other factors that are worth bearing in mind. Firstly, unless you buy flour in bulk (5 or 10 kgs), home-made bread will turn out more expensive than commercial bread. Secondly, New Zealand flour is better for making cakes than bread (due to gluten content) - I will elaborate on this next week. Beware also when you buy wholemeal flour much of it is reconstituted (white flour and bran etc.).

Like many other processes in our society, flour making is closely tied to economic gain - you lose profits if you stop machinery early in the refining process to remove wholemeal flour. There are some stoneground wholemeal flours available around town (try health food shops), which give rather pleasing results. Thirdly, the cheapest (and friendliest) way to buy yeast is to use jars of dried yeast and share with friends. Always respect yeast - it's a living plant - never use water that is too hot or you will kill it.

No Knead Wholemeal Bread

You will need:
  • One 3 pint tin or 2 smaller ones
  • 550 grams (1 lb 4 oz) stoneground wholemeal flour
  • 1 tablespoon (heaped) dry yeast or
  • 15 grams fresh yeast
  • 15 grams salt
  • approximately 350 grams water
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Take part of water (about a cup for dry yeast), warm to blood heat (30°) (or just use hot tap water). Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top and leave 10 minutes to reactivate yeast.

At the same time warm flour for about 10 mins in oven at 220°C (Gas 7) - leave oven on.

Then take rest of water (blood heat), mix in milk, add salt to liquid and dissolve. Grease warmed tin(s).

Once flour is warmed through make a well in centre, pour in yeast and add as much water as will make dough manageable (do this slowly as flour takes a little time to absorb water). (Different flours vary considerably in the amount of liquid absorbed so don't stick dogmatically to recipe it's not a scientific formula, just a guide).

Fill the tins ½-¾ full, cover with damp warm cloth (or sheet of plastic) and leave in a warm place until dough reaches top of tin. The easiest method if you don't have a hot water cupboard is to place bread tins on upside down roasting dish in sink. Fill sink almost to top of roasting pan with hot water. Cover sink top with thick towel to hold heat in.

Bake in oven at 220°C (gas 7) for 17 minutes, then reduce heat to 190°C (gas 5) for another 15 minutes. Loaves should slip out of pans now (if not leave a little longer). Loaves should sound hollow when tapped if cooked through.

Alf Harris