A perfect white loaf recipe

Gizzi Erskine let 4Food into her kitchen to show us how easy it is to make homemade bread.

• 2tsp dried active yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 285ml blood temperature water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil

1. Put the yeast and sugar into a jug with the water. Give it a stir then leave to sit for five minutes until the yeast gets frothy.

2. Add the salt to the flour and the olive oil into the jug with the yeast. Then pour the liquid ingredients into a bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until you have a squidgy dough.

3. Flour up your work-surface or table and turn the dough out of the bowl. Knead by pushing the dough away from you and pulling it back in for about ten minutes, until the dough starts to give you some resistance. To test if your dough is ready use the side of your hands to pull the dough into a tight ball, press your thumb lightly into the top of the ball. If the dough springs back straight away, it's perfect.

4. Put the ball of dough into a large, oiled bowl and cover tightly with oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half until it has doubled in size.

5. Remove the cling film and knock back the dough, forcing the air out of it with the palm of your hand. Knead for another 30 seconds to get the rest of the air out, then form into a rugby-ball shape and place into an oiled loaf tin. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to sit somewhere warm for 45 minutes to rise again.

6. Peel off the cling film and put the tin straight into an oven preheat to 200°C/gas mark 6 for 35 minutes.

7. Give your loaf a tap on the top - if it sounds hollow it is baked to perfection. Resist the urge to scoff it immediately. Leave the bead to cool before you eat it or it might hurt your tummy.

Tip: to make wholemeal bread, replace half the flour with wholemeal bread flour.

Watch the step-by-step guide how to make bread

© Gizzi Erskine