Crusty sea salt cottage loaf
- The Bake Away
- Feb 15, 2016
- 1 min read
This pretty loaf tastes the best when it's been just taken out of the oven. It's extremely crispy, perfect for sandwiches.
Ingredients
675g strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
7g easy-bake instant yeast
400ml water
1 medium egg (for brushing)
a large baking tray, greased with butter (like this)
Instructions
- in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast
- add the water and mix until it comes together
- turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic
- return to the bowl, cover and leave to rise for around 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size
- punch down to deflate and turn out on a lightly floured surface
- knead for around 1 minute
- divide the dough into two pieces (one smaller than the other)
- knead and shape each piece into a ball
- cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for around 40 minutes
- put the small piece on top of the large one and punch your thumb through the middle to connect the two pieces
- leave to rise for 10 minutes
- with a very sharp knife or a bread scorer, make small cuts around the two balls
- brush the tops with a beaten egg and sprinkle with some sea salt
- put a tray of water in the oven (this will make the bread crispy) and preheat to 230 C
- bake the bread for around 15 minutes than reduce the overn temperature to 200 C
- bake for furter 20 minutes
