How to make bread
Baking bread is not stressful unless you want it to be
Virtuous Bread wants to make it fun and easy for people all over the world to make and find and learn about good bread and in so doing to forge the link between bread and virtue. This is the "learn about" bit. And there is both a lot to learn and nothing to learn at all...
Flour, water, salt and yeast. These are the maximum number of ingredients you need to make a really simple, really great loaf of bread – hot, out of the oven, with butter or anything else you fancy.
You can get away with just two ingredients if you have to: In its most basic form, bread has only flour and water. Salt makes bread taste better. Yeast makes bread rise. Sweeteners, spices, eggs, fats, herbs, spices, cheese, seeds, fruit, nuts, vegetables, beer, wine, vodka, tea, coffee and juice make interesting and delicious variations from your average loaf.
Much of the bread we buy has all sorts of unnecessary additives. Using these additives is standard practice for commercial bakers but their use is driven by us, the consumers, who want ever cheaper food on our plates.
Virtuosubread.com would like encourage you to try making your own bread at home and here is are two interesting facts:
1. It is really easy.
The recipes on the site will be simple and foolproof. The videos on the site will help you see how to knead bread, what yeast looks like when it has proofed, what dough looks like when it has doubled, and what the baking process is all about.
2. It is really cheap.
You can make a basic loaf of bread for about 35 pence. You don't need a bread maker, you don’t even need a bread tin. All you need is a bowl, a cooker, a small surface on which to knead the bread, a baking tray (usually comes with the oven) and the ingredients, the maximum number of which is (repeat after me): four.
Bread baking does not need to be stressful and you can fit it into even the busiest of lifestyles, you can even do it during a board meeting! It is a fun thing to do in a group and a restful thing to do on your own. Better quality ingredients will result in better loaves of bread. Different techniques may make the difference between an award winning loaf of bread and a perfectly delicious, edible loaf of bread. We promise that you will never fail, that your friends, families, colleagues, neighbours, and even complete strangers will be grateful and impressed, and that anything - even the ugliest loaf - tastes great toasted.
If you are inspired and want to participate in a hands on bread making class please have a look at the courses we offer here. If you love bread but have no interest in learning how to bake it, I understand. I love paintings but have no desire to learn to paint. What I do encourage you to do, though, is to read the label of the bread you buy. If there is no label, I encourage you to ask the baker (even in an in-store bakery) what is in the bread. You could be disgusted, you could be delighted, you will be informed.
You are what you eat so eat well and do good.
