Breakfast bread

I invited a friend over for breakfast the other day and I really wanted to have fresh bread to offer among other things, but had no desire to get up super-early to knead. I am SO not a morning person.

What I needed was a bread recipe that I could make up the night before, and allow to rise overnight.

This Paillasse recipe was the perfect thing, and, in fact I didn't actually have to knead at all. A little bit of a pity in some ways, as kneading bread is rather fun. The overnight rise gives it a lovely flavour as it gives the yeast time to develop. I would make it again any time... hmm.. maybe I will whip up a half batch right now for tomorrow!

You simply will not believe how easy this is. Go on... give it a bash.

Pain Paillasse

500 gms flour (try to get flour with a decent amount of gluten in it rather than super-white pastry flour)
300 ml cold water
7g instant yeast (1 sachet)
1 tsp Salt

Put ingredients in a mixer with dough hooks and mix for 5 minutes.

Oil a dish (around 20cm square) and put the dough in the dish. Cover closely with plastic film.

Refrigerate for at least 10 hours. (basically overnight)

When you get up in the morning, put the oven on to 250 °c. Sprinkle your bench with some flour, and maybe some sesame seeds if you fancy them. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into two or three pieces. Form into logs and twist each twice.

Pop onto a baking tray and slide it straight into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes at full temperature, then drop the oven temperature to 200, and turn the loaves so that they will brown evenly. Cook for another 10 minutes or so.

Voila - you are done! Incredibly easy eh?