a crusty loaf of bread | seriously easy to make

I went through a stage of making my own sourdough a couple of years ago; almost at around the same time I started writing the blog. I was inspired by my sister Elles, who gave me the Gail’s cookbook for Chrissie one year – sent all the way from London.

And talk about satisfying! I made my own ‘starter’ (the bread enthusiasts among us will understand what that means) and tended to it lovingly for a couple of months. All was going well until it started to turn a slight green colour and smelling somehow a little too “sour”. Too sour even for sourdough. I’d obviously done something wrong. Goodbye sourdough.

As fun as that was, to be honest, it was a little too technical for me anyway. Not really my kind of cooking. My kind of cooking is something a little easier to master. Something that can be thrown together in the space of minutes (proofing aside) and using ingredients that I always have in the cupboard (you only need four ingredients for this bread!) Plain flour, salt, water and instant yeast sachets; you can get them at any supermarket (I always have them in the pantry for making pizza dough).

I guarantee you that this loaf’ll have you feeling like a professional baker. But if you’re looking for a loaf of bread that resembles a sliced white ‘Tip Top’ loaf from Woolies, than this is NOT the recipe for you. This is the kind that will take you back to those endless bowls of crusty bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on European holidays in little red and white checkered tablecloth clad tavernas (gosh those were the days).

It’s SO easy, it really is for dummies. I dare you to stuff it up. The outside is super crunchy – just the way I like it; you should hear the sound of the crunch it makes when you cut in to it. Crunchy on the outside and soft and squishy on the inside, smother it in butter whilst still warm from the oven. Oh. My. Gosh. Yum!

And with all of this time being spent at home lately, what are they saying? That we should all be learning a new skill? It seems that everybody on social media is currently baking their own bread (either that or doing a jigsaw puzzle – thanks to the endorsement from Scott Morrison). So if you’re looking for something to pass the time and jigsaw puzzles aren’t your thing, then look no further. Follow the pictures below to see just how easy it is.

So this one’s for you Elles Belles. Nowhere near as professional as “Gail’s” I’m sure, but it’ll hit the spot nonetheless. I just can’t wait to enjoy a slice or two of this with you under the vines at ‘Henwood’ soon.

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If you make this bread, please leave your comments below. Would love to see what you think. xx