This delicious and simple white bread accompanied our lunch with the food writer and editor Tom Jaine at his home in Devon, in August 2017.
INGREDIENTS
500g strong white flour
375g water
0.5 tsp yeast
1.5 tsp salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
METHOD
Mix the ingredients together well to form a tacky dough. Leave in the bowl, covered, at room temperature. After 20 minutes turn the dough in the bowl with your scraper 12 times or so. Cover and leave for 1 hour. Repeat the turning. Leave for one hour. Repeat the turning. Leave for one hour. Put on a floured surface. Flour your proving basket. Shape it into a round and put it in a floured proving basket. Cover and leave for between 35 and 50 minutes, until doubled in size. Turn out and bake on the bottom of the Aga for 26 minutes (or for 26-30 minutes in a conventional oven set to 200C).