White bread recipe – Feasting Is Fun

Welcome to Autumn here in the U.K. A time when storms rip across the land, pulling leaves from trees, tousling our manicured summer gardens. While shadows lengthen as the days shorten and golden sunshine illuminates the changing colours of our landscape. As temperatures begin to drop thoughts turn to indoors where we crave comfort and being cosy. The kitchen, no longer churning out endless salads that quench summer heat, now become our sanctuary. And baking bread again becomes a pleasure, as the house fills with welcoming aromas and our appetites are satiated. Crusty and delicious this Easy White Cob Loaf is the simplest bread to make, requiring no special tin to bake it in.

Taking The Hard Work Out Of Making Bread

Crusty bread is so appealing. Whether toasted and slathered in jam, or buttered and served with soup, it never fails to deliver on taste and texture. Made using simple ingredients; flour, water, yeast, salt and a little butter or oil, it only requires the minimum handling when using a stand mixer to mix and knead the dough. So, for those who struggle with painful hands due to arthritis, as I do, this recipe is simple and easy to make. Alternatively, this recipe can easily be made by hand for those who prefer to knead bread themselves.

Easy Bread Making For Everyone

Whether this is your first time making bread or the millionth, the simplicity of this recipe is so rewarding. Since we use the same bowl to mix the ingredients together and prove the dough. And when using a stand mixer all of the kneading also takes place in this bowl. A baking tray is necessary and a dough scraper recommended. Finally, a sharp knife to score the dough and you’re all set!

A beautiful, golden, crusty Cob Loaf.

Recipe: Easy White Cob Loaf

400ml/13.5fl oz Water at body temperature 37C/98.5F

7g Fast Action Dried Yeast – I currently use Doves Farm

600g/1lb 5oz Strong White Bread Flour – I use Organic White Bread Flour from Shipton Mill plus a little extra for dusting the worktop

7g Salt – I use Maldon Salt as it doesn’t contain any other chemicals

25g/1oz Unsalted Butter at room temperature. Alternatively use 1tbsp rapeseed oil – plus a little extra for greasing the baking tray.

Making And Proving The Easy White Cob Loaf Dough

First of all add the water to the stand mixer bowl. I prefer to weigh it as it is more accurate.
Next add the yeast and then the flour.
Add the salt on top of the flour.
With a dough hook attachment slowly (speed 1 on a Kitchenaid mixer) mix the ingredients for 5 minutes.
Following the initial mixing add the butter or oil and turn the speed of the mixer up slightly (speed 2 on a Kitchenaid mixer).
Continue to mix the dough for a further 10 minutes.
Finally stop the mixer and using clean wet hands form the dough into a ball shape.
*Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to prove until doubled in size.
Lightly dust a clean worktop with flour. Using the dough scraper release the dough from the bowl so that the top of the dough is now underneath. This is important as we build tension across the dough as we shape it.

Making Bread By Hand

Alternatively, add the ingredients to a bowl as previously mentioned and mix by hand adding the butter/oil as the dough comes together, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Shape into a ball and place back into the bowl. Carry on from step *.

Shaping The Dough

In the image above you can see the unshaped dough turned out of the bowl and a perfectly round, shaped dough ready for the second prove. The following steps will teach you how to shape and build tension across the dough so that it keeps it’s shape during baking.
First of all, dust your hands with flour.
Pull out part of the dough and then press it back into the centre. See the images below.
Turn the dough and repeat the last step. While you are doing this you are creating tension across the base of the dough.
Continue turning the dough, pulling and pressing into the centre until you have a tight, roundish shape.

Creating The Perfect Cob Loaf Shape

Flip the dough over and use your hands to cup and twist the dough.
Continue until you have a neat, tight, dough ball.
Finally place the dough ball onto a greased baking tray, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 20 minutes.
PRE HEAT your oven to 220C/200C fan, 425F, gas mark 7. Place a shallow, ovenproof dish with water in it on the bottom shelf of the oven.
After 20 minutes of proving use the blade of a sharp knife to score down the middle of the dough.

Baking The Easy White Cob Loaf

Preheating the oven with water in it creates a steamy environment that allows the dough to expand more before setting a crust.
Place the baking tray in the middle of the oven.
Bake the bread for 50-55 minutes.
The loaf should be golden in colour and sound hollow when rapped on the base with a knuckle (take care it will be hot).
As soon as the bread is baked remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack or trivet to cool completely.

Leave the bread to completely cool before cutting it.

Attempting to cut hot or warm bread will cause it to lose it’s structure and collapse as it’s cut.

Beautiful, easy to cut, crusty bread.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Easy White Cob Loaf you may also like these:

Seeded Cob Loaf

Farmhouse White Loaf

Large White Bloomer

Since making bread is a passion of mine, sharing recipes, with you the reader, is important to me. Everyone who wants to should be able to make bread using simple, affordable ingredients. Equally important are clear, concise recipes with photographs. Together these aid confidence in the baker through each stage of the recipe, turning fear into fun!

So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie x

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Is there anything better than the smell and taste of freshly baked bread? This Farmhouse White Loaf is utterly delicious. If you’ve never baked bread before, read on and let me encourage you to give it a go.

Baking your own bread is such a rewarding experience. From a few simple ingredients, mixed together, the bread literally grows before your eyes.

This Farmhouse White Loaf is the perfect recipe to start with, if you have never made your own bread before.

You will need a loaf tin to bake your bread in. I recently reviewed a British company, that sells British manufactured bakeware you can read it here.

British Bakeware sell a range of loaf tins, my favourite and the one used for baking this loaf is the 3lb deep farmhouse loaf tin.

Farmhouse White Loaf – Bread Baked In A Regular Oven

The advantage of having a deep loaf tin is, no muffin topped loaves. In the past I have baked bread in tins that weren’t as deep as this one and the bread rose and billowed out, like a mushroom. I’d have to cut away the sides of the bread, where it had stuck to the outside of the tin. Not they way to bake a great looking loaf!

The instructions given below for making this bread are, by hand (which everyone should do at least once in their lifetime), or using a stand mixer/bread maker to carry out the mixing, kneading and knocking back.

Personally I prefer bread baked in the oven. I have baked many a loaf in a bread maker, however, I never seem to get the gorgeous, crunchy crust, that I achieve with an oven baked loaf. Plus bread maker bread is always a little soft for my liking and there’s the inevitable hole in the bottom of the loaf where the mixing paddle is!

Bread dusted with flour and lightly scored to create a pretty finish once baked. — Farmhouse White Loaf

Bread As It Should Be – Without Unnecessary Additives

If you like baking bread in a bread maker I am most certainly not going to judge you. Any bread baked at home is infinitely better than plastic wrapped, pre-sliced, mass produced bread! Aside from speciality breads like my Tomato Thyme Garlic Focaccia, bread should contain nothing more than flour, water, yeast, salt, water and a little oil or butter.

Read the ingredients on the back of a shop bought loaf and you will be amazed at all the additives.

Baking your own bread is easy, once you get into a routine. Even when baking by hand, it still only takes 20 minutes, hands on time, to get a loaf ready to be baked. Once you taste real, homemade bread, it’s hard to go back to the bought stuff – that said, I’m a realist and I usually have a bought loaf stashed in the deep freeze for days when my body is playing up (see here). So I won’t judge!!

Helpful Bread Making Tips

Just a quick tip: if you do start to bake bread regularly, it can pay to bulk buy your bread flour. I use organic flour that is stone ground, from Shipton Mill currently I buy it through Amazon UK using their subscribe and save, although Shipton Mill now have their own online shop. Buying in bulk, through Amazon UK, 5 x 2.5kg bags, means that we eat good quality, organic, stone ground British flour, for about 60 pence a loaf!

While I love baking with fresh yeast, the shelf life is very short, so I have used 7g sachets of fast action dried yeast. Alternatively, if you do use fresh yeast, simply double the quantity stated for dried.

Recipe: Makes 1 Large Farmhouse White Bread Loaf

500g/1lb 2oz Strong White Bread Flour – I use Shipton Mill organic white flour

1 x 7g Sachet Fast Action Dried Yeast – I use Allinson Easy Bake in the green packet or pot

1tbsp Honey – alternatively use 1tsp regular sugar

320ml/11oz Tepid Tap Water (approx body temp)

7g Salt – I use Maldon Sea Salt

1 tbsp Rapeseed Oil (Canola Oil) – I use Kentish Oils alternatively add 25g/1oz of unsalted butter.

Farmhouse White Loaf – Making The Bread Dough

The ‘bowl’ is either a large bowl, with which to mix the bread by hand, or the stand mixer/bread maker bowl.

For all methods:

Pour the water into the bowl. Add the honey and yeast. Swish about with clean fingers to activate the yeast.

Add the flour on top of the liquid.

Add the salt and the oil/butter.

Bread Maker

If using a bread maker, set to dough cycle and start the program. Once the cycle is completed re-start for 2 minutes. This ‘knocks back’ the dough. Then remove the dough, shape into an oval/ball and place into a buttered loaf tin. Cover with a damp cloth, leave in a draught free place until doubled in size.

Stand Mixer – with dough hook attachment

If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and mix on medium speed until all the ingredients are combined. Continue to mix for a further 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Stop mixing. Scrape the dough from the dough hook and combine with the dough in the bowl. Form into a ball, place back into the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and leave in a draught free place until doubled in size (approx. 1hour). Once doubled remove the cloth, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed using the dough hook. This ‘knocks back’ the dough. Remove the dough and form into an oval/ball shape, place into a buttered loaf tin. Cover with a damp cloth, leave in a draught free place until doubled in size.

By Hand

If hand mixing, bring all the ingredients together with your hand until they form a doughy mess! Place this dough onto a very lightly floured worktop. Knead for a good 10 minutes. If the dough gets sticky, keep kneading and working it – if you add extra flour the finished bread will be dry. After a good 10 minutes kneading, the dough should have a smooth elasticity. Place the kneaded dough into a buttered bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a draught free place until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.

Shaping The Dough Ready For The Second Proof

Ensure the area that you are shaping your dough is draught free.

First of all lightly dust the work surface with flour

Tip out the dough, from its bowl, so the top of the dough is directly in contact with the worktop. This will help as we start to build tension within the dough.

Lightly flour your hands and pull out part of the sticky dough, then press it into the centre of the dough, as seen in the photos below.

Continue this process all the way around the outside of the dough until you have a smooth, rectangular shape, with no sticky sides.

Shaping The Loaf

Using your fingers, lightly press the dough out into a square shape, roughly the same width as the length of your dough tin.

Fold the top third of the dough onto itself and then repeat with the bottom third of the dough, pulling it so that it overlaps the first fold.

Flip the folded dough over and tuck in the top and bottom to create an oval shape.

Place the shaped dough, with the seams underneath, into the loaf tin.

Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a draft free place until doubled in size.

Baking Your Farmhouse White Loaf

10 minutes before the dough is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan, gas mark 7, 425F. Also, place an inch (2.5cm) of water in a container and place on the bottom of the oven. This will create steam which allows the bread to rise more (known as oven spring ) before forming a crust.

Also, if desired, score the loaf before placing in the oven.

Place the loaf tin into the middle of the oven. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. Tip the loaf out of the tin.

The bread is cooked when it has a deep golden crust and sounds hollow when rapped on the base with your knuckle.

For an extra crusty loaf place the bread directly on the oven shelf and bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Enjoy the wonderful aroma of baking bread as it fills your kitchen. That alone is worth baking this bread for!

Enjoying Your Farmhouse White Loaf At It’s Best

Allow the Farmhouse White Loaf to cool completely before slicing. I know it is sooo tempting to tear into the hot, freshly baked loaf, but if you do the bread will all squidge (is that a word??) together and be very hard to slice.

Give yourself a big pat on the back for making a cracking loaf!

You deserve it.

White Sandwich Bread sliced — Farmhouse White Loaf

This was not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and recommendations for products are purely from my own personal experience.

Bread is a staple in so many homes, treat yourself to a home baked loaf and I promise you won’t regret it.

FF Farmhouse White Loaf — A Farmhouse White Loaf slashed after the second prove.

Here To Help You Bake The Perfect Bread

I do not presume to be an expert, however, I have baked a fair few loaves over the years. Please ask if you are having any problems, need guidance or reassuring?

Either leave a comment or tweet (@sammiefeasting) me a question. I will do my very best to help.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Farmhouse White Loaf you may like to try these:

Oat Bran White Bread

Easy Homemade Cottage Loaf

Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread

While baking bread is not only a satisfying and tasty experience, it can also work out much cheaper than buying a standard loaf at the shops. Also, you know exactly what has gone into your home baked bread. And, the more bread you make, the better you will become at making it. As you become confident baking a white loaf you can get creative and try other bread recipes. Although, I should issue a warning, bread making can become addictive!

So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.