White Loaf

Put 500g of the Flour into a large bowl, thoroughly stir in ½ of the sachet of Yeast, pour in 300ml of the water and mix with a wooden spoon to make a nice soft dough, it shouldn't be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 10min, until the dough feels slightly firmer and is smooth and elastic.

Return the dough to the bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm. Leave for at least 4 hours at normal room temperature, but no more than 6 hours.

When dough has risen well you can start on your second dough.                   Mix the remaining 250g of Flour,  the other ½ of the Yeast Sachet and the Salt together in another mixing bowl. Add 150ml of Tepid Water and mix to a firm dough. 

Add this to the first batch of dough and knead well for 5 minutes until thoroughly combined. Loosely cover with a sheet of cling film and leave to to rest on the worktop for 15 minutes.

Pat the dough into large rectangle shape, 3cm thick and about 30cm long. Fold in both short ends by about 4cm and roll up the dough from one long side(like a swiss roll), pinch the dough together every time you roll. 

Set seam-side down on a large, lined baking tray and slip the baking tray into a large plastic bag and secure the end (I used a shopping bag). Leave  to rise at normal room temperature for 45-60min until nearly double the size.

Towards the end of your rising time, heat the oven to 200C(Fan). Put a roasting tin in the bottom of the oven to heat up.

Remove the loaf from it's plastic bag and brush with lukewarm water, sprinkle the Poppy Seeds over the top and make quick diagonal slashes with a serrated knife.

Working quickly, slide the bread into the oven and pour cold water into the roasting tin at the bottom, to get a good burst of steam. Bake for 35-40min until the loaf is golden brown and bottom is hollow when tapped. Transfer to wore rack to cool.                Enjoy.x