4 Ingredient Bread for Beginners
I'm not a beginner when it comes to bread, but I'm thinking about starting to use this quick recipe for making bread in our family on a regular basis. It's very surprising to see how you can get such fluffy and tasty bread with so little effort - my girls liked it too, they would often come and steal a piece or two.
You really don't need any special skills, my 5-year-old Maria, a beginner in the kitchen, was very actively involved in the process. To this simple recipe, you can also add different types of flour, seeds and anything else you want. But when you make it for the first time, I advise you to use white flour (I added a bit of integral flour as well), just to see it as such.
If you don't have yeast, you can cook the "No Yeast, Quick Homemade Bread" recipe.
Put the flour, the salt and the yeast in a bowl.
If you are using fresh yeast, dissolve it in warm water.
Add the warm water.
And mix toghther with a spoon or a spatula - my 5-year-old little Maria helped me out.
And so you get a sticky dense dough.
Cover it in wrap plastic and keep it in the fridge for 2 hours to rise.
You can keep it in the fridge for 12 hours as well, this way the bread will be softer. You could prepare the dough in the evening and bake the bread in the morning.
This is how it's supposed to look like after you take it out of the fridge.
Transfer it on the floured table using a spoon or a spatula.
Dust some more flour on it.
Then, with your hands, shape it as a round or oval bread, as you like or as you can.
Put the bread on a cooking pan - optionally, you can line the pan with parchment paper.
Let it rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven.
Use a knife to make some cuts and put the bread in the pre-heated oven to 200 degrees C for 45 minutes.
When the bread is still very hot, spread some hot water on it.
The crust is pretty crunchy and thick, so the water will soften it a bit, without making it less crunchy.
Wrap it in a kitchen towel and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before you serve it.
Depending on how patient you are...
Here I want you to notice the difference between the bread made of dough which was kept for 12 hours in the fridge - above.
And the quicker one, made of dough which was kept for 2 hours in the fridge - below.
It's not a big difference, you could try both ways, depending on your time. I'd say that the first one is more flexible and a bit more fluffly, but not much more.
Don't hesitate to try the bread recipe for beginners, even if you are advanced, I'm sure it will be a nice surprise.
You could as well make 2 smaller loaves instead of a big one, or you can keep some of it in the freezer and use it when you need.
Enjoy!
