Honey bread
I was recently feeling a little nostalgic for my old job where we would make bread with the children every morning so I decided to show my own kids the simple art of making bread. It is something that we have really lost touch with but it’s really quite easy and it’s so cool to see what an amazing little creature yeast is. Watching it turn sugar water into a bubbling, frothing mess is great for kids to see too, and another lesson in where our food comes from.
As long as your yeast mixture is active and you don’t make your dough really wet or really dry, this recipe is pretty fool proof. You may need to add more water or flour, just see how it feels. The mixture should be moist but if you pull a bun-sized piece away and roll in on a lightly floured board it should form a nice ball and not stick to the bench. Have a play with different flour combinations and try adding some seeds to your mix if you are that way inclined.
Ingredients
4 cups of flour - this can be made up of a combination of white or wholemeal, in fact the last time I made it I used 3 cups of white flour and 1 cup of LSA powder so you can be pretty creative with your flour mix.
2 cups of warm water
1 5g sachet of active yeast
1 tablespoon of honey
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Put your warm water in a bowl or pyrex jug and add the yeast and honey. Leave to sit for around 10 minutes in a warm place. I usually put some warm water in the sink and stand the jug in it to keep it warm. In a large bowl, add the flour, salt and oil. When the yeast mixture is nice and frothy, add it bit by bit to the flour, stirring to combine, making sure the mixture doesn’t get too wet and sticky. Use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough and tip out onto a floured surface and kneed for around 5 minutes. If you are making buns, divide your dough up and give each bun a light kneed before placing on a floured tray. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes. If you are making a loaf, push the dough into a greased loaf tin (or you might need 2) and bake for around 35 minutes. The outside should be nicely browned and when you tap on the loaf or buns they should almost sound hollow.
The best way to eat your bread is hot, smothered in butter and honey.
