(english) Crusty white bread

http://www.benessere.com/alimentazione/alimenti/pane.htm

I think that anyone has tried to make bread at home. Many people think that is difficult, however it’s not difficult you only need  patience and practice at preparing  the dough and then while it rises  you can find something else to do : you can call your friends, read that book you bought and have not yet had time to open, play with your kids 🙂 . It’s a great for destress. You can consider the simple act of preparation and handling of the dough as a relaxation technique for the mind, body and emotions. It’s perfect if you are impatient, if you depend on immediate results, if you need to channel your energy, is an act extremely liberating, kneading keeps your mind engaged and, without realizing it, you forget stress, worries, and concerns. I used to  see baking  bread since I was a kid, my mom used to make it, at  my grandparents home it was a tradition , my aunts used to make bread too . Not one or two …. bu a lot , and they kneaded in this way:

Baked in the wood fire oven  we used to eat it hot … waking up up with a delicious smell of bread or pizza. We always  used  “lievito madre“. I remember that we used to ask our neighbor, my grandmother, my aunt ….. but I’ve never understood who made this natural yeast first.  Now I make bread too,  delicious pagnotte, tasty ciabatte, soft rolls. Simple preparations or stuffed. There are many recipe that you can choose according to our tastes, our needs, and the time that you have.

Today I prepare the “crusty white bread”, few ingredients, you mix them all together and the result is delicious. I found the recipe in the book: Frame by frame, Baking: a practical manual that I bought here (in every country where I lived I bought cookbooks), it has  clear and simple explanations with   step by step illustrations .

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 egg yolk
150-200 ml/5-7 fl oz lukewarm water
500 g/ 1lb 2 oz strong white flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp salt
2tsp sugar
1tsp easy-blend dried yeast
25 g/1 oz butter, diced (I put extravirgen olive oil)
oil for greasing

Place the egg and egg yolk in a jug and beat lightly to mix. Add the water to make up to 300 ml/ 10 fl oz. Stir well. Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg mixture in the center and work for about 10 minutes, until smooth. Brush a bowl with oil, form a ball,  place in the bowl, cover and leave to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
Preheat the oven to 220 C/ 425 F.
Shape the dough so it is the same length as the loaf tin and three times the width. Fold the dough in three widthways and place it in the tin with the join underrneath. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes (I leaved for 50 minutes). Place in the oven and bake for 30 min or until firm and golden brown.