Bread Making

I love making bread, particularly on a cooler morning. The smell as the dough rises and the warmth of the oven make the boat feel very cozy.
The delight of taking the crusty loaves out of the oven and that first hot slice covered with melting butter, mmmnnn!

After the excitement of the pig killing yesterday I settled down to make my usual white crusty farmhouse loaf but decided to have a go at a new, to me, recipe for green onion and sage bread. It sounded like just the thing for those turkey sandwiches that I am anticipating later this week! Boy was it good....

This is the recipe I used. I didn't have any wholemeal flour so used all white, no fresh sage so I substituted one and a half teaspoons of dried sage. Two loaves are in the freezer waiting for the turkey and we've already finished the other one...

Dan Lepard's green onion and sage loaf recipe

475g strong white flour, plus more for shaping 150g wholemeal flour 1 tsp fast-action yeast 2 tsp fine salt 1 tsp sugar 50ml olive oil 1 medium egg 250ml warm water 6 medium green (spring) onions, finely chopped 20g sage leaves, shredded Sea salt flakes and olive oil, to finish Put the flours, yeast, salt and sugar into a large bowl and toss with your fingers. In another bowl, whisk the oil, egg and water until smooth, stir in the onions and sage, then add to the flour bowl and mix to a smooth, soft dough. Leave for 10 minutes. On a well-oiled patch of worktop, lightly knead for about 10 seconds, then return the dough to the bowl. Leave for 10 minutes, then repeat the light kneading twice more at 10-minute intervals before leaving it at room temperature for 90 minutes. Divide the dough into three, shape each into a ball with flour, then sit them touching like a clover on a baking tray covered with nonstick paper. Cover, leave to rise for about an hour, then brush with oil, sprinkle with salt flakes and bake at 240C (220C fan-assisted)/465F/gas mark 9 for about 30 minutes.