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Simple white bread

I've been playing around with a very simple white bread recipe which I mix and knead (mostly) in the food processor. It's so easy I've actually made it several times in the past two weeks.

Next: Play around with adding wholemeal, wholegrain and rye flours, and with using quick-rise yeast.

300 ml warm water
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar

1 lb flour (strong white bread flour is best)
2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp butter (or vegetable oil)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let stand for 15 minutes, until bubbly and frothy.

Meanwhile mix flour, salt and butter in food processor, until butter is crumbly. Once the yeast is ready, put food processor on low speed, and pour the yeast mixture through the funnel. Let it go until the dough clumps up into a big ball.

Remove dough from food processor bowl and put in a largeish bowl with about 1 Tablespoon of flour. Knead for a few minutes. Lift dough and oil bowl, spreading oil on both sides of the dough. Cover bowl with cling film and let rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about an hour.

Grease a standard loaf pan. Punch down dough. Knead lightly and roll into an oblong shape. Place in loaf pan. Cover with cling film and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Bake at 200C (fan oven) for 25 minutes. Remove from loaf pan. Let cool on wire rack.

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