STUART Bread Master Class
This wholesome blog comes from the original & founding member of this wing of the family - Stuart Cakebread. He will be walking us through how to make some of his very delicious cheese bread.
Before I hand the keyboard over to Dad, I just wanted to say a big thank you to him for his wonderful Bread Master Class that he held over video. It was a lovely way to spend Tuesday evening. And a note on this bread - each team (Mum, Peter & Dais, Katy & Ryan) used different flour, cider/water/beer & we were all universally under-skilled. And despite this all of our bread turned out great (which says more about how good this recipe is than luck, I suspect). Below are some images of the evening & results. Enjoy!
Dad’s Cheese Bread
STUART
Cakebakebread - that’s what we do. I have set out, fresh from a kitchen in deepest Oxfordshire (or Berkshire as the old purists would have it) the recipe my mum used to bake our bread during the war. Actually none of that is true. My mum didn’t bake bread (she wasn’t after all a Cakebread) and I was but a distant twinkle in my daddy’s eyes. However she could have done. And we Cakebakebreads do this in this contemporary recreation of La Peste. So you need:-
Ingredients
500kg bag of malted (preferably) strong bread flour*
Packet of 7g sachets of dried yeast or 50g of live yeast available from Sainsbury bread making counter (you ask for it, probably currently unavailable)
300ml of Cider, beer, water, milk or gin (if things get really bad) (any)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon of runny honey or sugar (any)
Cheese (any hard cheese) about 100g
Very Large mixing bowl.
Black bin liner (preferably), wet tea towel or cling film
Cheese grater
Bottle of good red, white or pink wine and glass. Avoid Chardonnay as it upsets the yeast.
*Other flour may be substituted eg. spelt (spelled spelt) rye, French. bread flour, multi seed, strong white or wholemeal bread flour BUT NOT ordinary wheat plain or self raising flour whether wholemeal or white
STEP 1 (Images below)
Measure 500g of flour into your mixing bowl.
Add 1 tbl spoon of salt.
Grate and mix in the cheese
Warm 250ml of the liquid. It should be warm but not hot.
Add the contents of 7g sachet of yeast to the liquid and tbl spoon of sugar or honey.
Thoroughly mix or whisk until all lumps are gone.
Pour the liquid into the flour and stir with wooden spoon until all liquid is absorbed. The dough should be very sticky but not too runny. You may need to add the remaining 50ml of liquid or part of it to the dough to get the right consistency. In fact you should have to. If you are using spelt or rye you may need more, if strong white bread flour or French bread flour possibly slightly less than the 50ml. Once you are happy that the dough is sticky and wet but not at at all runny i.e. you can lift it out of the bowl in one piece, it is ready.
Have a glass of wine.
STEP TWO (Images below)
Flour the work surface with the same or different flour (but never self raising) and lift the dough on to it. Don’t panic (never panic). Cover it with the loose flour which will make it workable and flour your own hands. Now begin to knead it into bread dough. Keep loose flour available to add when necessary. You can do this if the dough is too wet or you can add more liquid if too dry.
Your dough will be very needy. Kneading should involve pulling, pressing, stretching. Roll into a tube and fold it back on itself, always stretching and pulling. Use finger tips, knuckles, the palm and heel of your hand, flatten. squash, roll, fold over, anything and everything. Use the hard surface to do the work against your hand. Use one or both hands or alternate.
Whilst doing this think of nice things.
The process will take about 8-12 minutes depending on the dough. White flour probably least, rye most. When the dough is no longer sticky but is slightly rubbery (in a nice way) and can be well stretched your are there.
Clean up your hands
Pour a large glass of wine and take a minute or two to admire your work.
Spread some more flour on the work surface
Now flatten the dough to look like a pizza about 9in in diameter and then poke your finger tips all over it so that is resembles focaccia.
Next put your forefinger, thumb and maybe middle finger on the edge and fold a piece into the middle. Repeat all the way round until you have a circular round thing again.
Turn the round thing over and place your hands slightly under it either side and move one hand forward and one back. This should twist and stretch the dough. Do this several times.
Finish by moulding into a ball and cover with flour and rub slightly in.
Place the dough into the freshly cleaned mixing bowl which has been sprinkled with flour.
Put the bowl and dough into a black bin liner, or cover with a wet tea cloth or clingfilm. Place in a warm place.
Pour yourself a large glass of wine and relax watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Britbox for about 1.5 hours.
STEP THREE (Images below)
Remove uncover the dough and remove from the bowl. You will now do the second kneading.
Don’t do anything too violent to your dough but give it a firm knead and stretch for 2 minutes. Then repeat 7-14 of Step Two and replace the dough in the covered bowl in a warm place.
Pour a generous glass of wine and consume over next 30 mins
STEP FOUR (Images below)
So now we prepare for proving i.e proving the bread will rise (it will).
Roll into a baguette shape and fold ends back on the centre. Repeat once or twice or more.
Roll back into ball, flatten and fold dough into itself with centre seam.
Roll all together back into ball.
STEP FIVE (Images)
Put the dough on to a tray already floured. Sprinkle with flour (preferably rye) and rub in.
Place under a dry cloth or back in the black bin bag and leave in a warm place for about 20-30 mins.
Meanwhile:
Pour a large glass of wine.
Boil water and place a tray in the oven and heat to about gas mark 6 or 180 degrees. You want the oven to have been hot for at least 20 mins before putting the bread in to get the steam circulating.
When the dough has proved itself take a serrated bread knife and cut a large cross into the top. The knife should sink into the bread up almost to its top edge so the cut should be just less deep than the width of the knife. Leave for a couple of minutes for the dough to separate. This cut is the magic that makes the dough cook all through.
Fill a cup about 1/3rd full with cold water. Place it by the oven. Leave the tray with the water in until the baking has finished.
Slide the dough uncovered into the bottom part of the oven. Now hold the cup of water in your hand and throw the contents into the bottom of the oven (unless it is a gas oven in which case you may wish to omit this step). Keep your face well out of the way when you do this and slam the oven door shut immediately as you throw the water in.
You must now leave the oven door shut for at least 10 mins. The steam will bake a lovely crust on to your bread.
After 20 mins open the oven and check the bread. Like Our Lord it will have risen so do not worry about taking it out to check over. It is just cooking. The crust should be hard and have turned darker. Turn the bread over and check the underneath. Tap it. If it does not sound hollow it has some baking yet to do. If it does it may still need more baking. So either way put it back into the oven upside down for about a further 5 mins. The worst that can happen if you slightly over bake is that you get an even better crust. If you under bake it’s bad news.
When baked remove your gorgeous loaf from the oven and place on a trivet or similar. It will still be baking inside for at least another half an hour so leave it in peace.
Have a glass of wine to celebrate.
Photo Credit - Hilary Hall