Cottage Loaf
A friend started me on this – it was his birthday and he asked me if he could see his name in bread – better than in lights! These baked letters are not for eating, but for display only.
Ingredients
- 400 gstrong white flour plus extra for dusting
- 11 ⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 20 g yeast
- 60 g/ butter softened
- 250 ml water
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until you have a soft, pliable dough.
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your fingers for 5 minutes, then put back in the bowl and rest the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8.
- Tip the dough out onto your floured surface, rip off a third of the dough and shape into a ball.
- Shape the remaining dough into a ball and place the smaller ball on top of the larger, then flatten slightly with your hand.
- Push your finger down through the centre of the loaf from top to bottom until you can feel the table.
- Dust the loaf with flour and, using a knife, make vertical slashes from the top of the loaf to the bottom (be careful not to cut yourself).
- Put onto a lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- When cooled, serve with chunks of cheese
