New to bread making

[BoysRule]

I would like to try making my own bread but am a complete beginner. Can anyone recommend a good starter book - something that explains the process and equipment and has some nice recipes?

Thanks

I like this one

I bought Paul Hollywoods 100 great breads.
I don't think you need to buy loads of books,you just need to find a simple loaf recipe and once you get confident with that,then in no time you will be making all types of bread!
It's really easy and very satisfying. I love it.
I use a stand mixer to do all the hard work for me.
A simple white bread recipe I use a lot is this one;

560g strong white bread flour
20g Vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt

Yeast;
Either 1 sachet of instant yeast
Or
2 teaspoons of active yeast mixed with warm water ( 100ml boiling water and 200ml straight out of the tap) mix the waters together first because hot water can kill the yeast.
Leave for 10 minutes to foam up.

I always used the instant yeast till I got used to bread making.

Mix the flour with the salt and instant yeast if using, and add the oil. Then pour in 300 ml (or grams-same weight) of warm water and mix with a wooden spoon then let your stand mixer do the work on low speed for 10 minutes.
Then put the dough into a well oiled bowl and tip it upside down so that the oil covers all the dough then cover in cling film and leave to double in size. This can take between 1-3 hrs depending on the temperature.

After that, take the dough out and knock it back to get the air out.

Then you can make small buns,large buns,a plaited loaf or just into a large 2lb loaf tin. Whatever you want.

After that leave to rise again then when you think it has doubled in size,pop it into a hot 220deg oven. A tin loaf takes about half an hour. Buns about 20 minutes depending on the size.

This bread freezes beautifully. Be sure to double wrap it if you intend to freeze it.

Hope this helps.

Sounds great - thanks for the advice. Can't wait to get started.

My one tip would be to spray the bread with water just prior to putting it in the oven. It allows the crust to expand for a few more minutes prior to setting so you don't get a hard, leathery crust.

Also you may need to adjust times and temperatures depending on your oven. A lot of recipes say to have the oven at max heat (220-240C) for however many mins before turning it down a bit. I've found my oven needs to be lower- say 200C for the initial short blast then 170-180.

Best of luck with it. It's such a satisfying endeavour once you figure it out!

have a look on the good food website too, they have some great and simple recipes from basic bread to fancier loaves :) free without paying out for a book just yet :)

and you don't need any special equipment :)

To ensure the inside is properly baked it needs to get to 93-96 Celsius. I got a cheap meat thermometer off amazon and it has helped avoid being underbaked. I never quite understand what the hollow sound we are supposed to hear is.