Dough

This recipe really works for me and it seems to make the most amazing pizza, focaccia, loaves of perfect bread, stromboli or what ever I try. Have a go you bunch of cunts.




15g of dried yeast or 30g of fresh yeast (you can get fresh yeast from bakeries for about 20p and it does freeze)
650 -700ml of water (warmish)
1tsp of sugar (any kind)
50ml (3 or 4 tbsp) of E.V. Olive Oil (you can use other oils)


1tbsp of sea salt
1kg of bread flour (Tipo '00' is the best, but you can just use normal plain flour in a worst case scenario, never use self raising, it kills the yeast!)


or


Make up you own blend of flours, a bit of semolina is always good, but make a total of 1kg in weight.




1. Mix water with the yeast, sugar and oil, you may want to whisk it up as yeast love air, along with warmth, sugar and moisture. Set aside and allow the yeast to party for a few minutes. Put on some hard-house music to dance to and join in the party. Techno will also work well.


2. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the yeasty water bit by bit and mix in the flour with a fork. Or you can put all the ingredients in a mixer and mix on a slow speed for 10 minutes.


3. If you don't have a mixer. Transfer the dough, after it has come together, to a floured surface and knead the mixture with your floured hands. Keep kneading until the dough becomes elastic. Like an extremely stretchy scrotum.


4. Transfer the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover with cling-film or a wet tea-towel. Place it somewhere warm and leave to prove/proof for a hour or until the dough has doubled in size. You can place the dough in an airtight container and leave it in the fridge overnight for a slow rise. Or freeze it.


5. Once the dough is ready, transfer it to the flour dusted work surface and knock all the air out (this is called knocking back).  Them you can do what ever you want with it. Hopefully the dough will be extremely soft and wet so you won't have any trouble rolling it out, I don't even roll it for Focaccia bread, I simply spread the dough with my hands and top it with a range of ingredients. The picture below shows this style of Focaccia where I use a very wet topping of tinned tomatoes, and it really helps keep the bread moist.

But as I mentioned before, you can  make pretty much make anything with this dough and it always comes out a winner. I won't go into oven temperatures (start at 180 to 200°C) or times (the bread is cooked when it's brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom), work it out for yourselves. All recipes will deliver different results and all ovens are different.






If you fancy viewing some bread making techniques check out the River Cottage Bread DVD, please have a watch (click the link to download). It's pretty basic, but shove it on your iPhone and watch it when you're bored - http://db.tt/bBwmWcU


Hope I don't get done for copyright infringement. Huge Furry-Woolyballs can suck my dick.