Turkish Bread

I love fresh bread. I especially love fresh homemade bread, fresh from the oven (or bread maker). Unfortunately when we moved to Cairns, I had given my Mother-In-Law my breadmaker to look after, which is now something I regret! I made bread quite often in it. But I shall not complain as living in Far North Queensland is like one big proover itself at times, so there is no need for a bread maker. When flicking through my cookbooks and came across a Turkish Bread recipe, well, how could I resist? I love, love, love Turkish Bread and miss the fact that I can't just go and buy it like I did from the South Melbourne Market each week (and was about a metre long!)

This recipe was pretty basic with ingredients already in my pantry. I did not use white flour bread though, I just stuck with Plain flour. I also used my mix master for the inital kneading process. Instead of dusting the tray with flour I used semolina.

*Taken from 'The Essential Baking Cookbook', a Murdoch Books publication*

Ingredients

2 x 7g sachets dried yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup (60g) plain flour
3 1/2 cups (435g) white bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup (80ml)

1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 tsp water

nigella or sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Method

Place the yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup (125 ml) warm water in a small bowl and stir well. Add a little of the flour and mix to a paste. Leave in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. The mixture should be frothy and will more than triple in size. If your yeast doesn't foam it is dead, so you need to discard it and start again.

Place the remaining flours and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the sponged yeast, olive oil and 1 cup (250ml) warm water. Mix to a rough dough, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Add minimal four as the dough should remain damp and springy.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to triple in size. Punch down and divide into three. Knead each portion for 2 minutes and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave for 10 minutes.

Roll each portion of dough into a rectangle 35cm x 15cm. Cover with damp tea towels and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes. Indent all over the surface with your fingers (I used my knuckles), brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the seeds. Preheat the oven to a hot 220C (425F).

For best results, bake each loaf separately. Place a baking tray in the oven for a couple of minutes until hot, remove and sprinkle lightly with flour. Place one portion of dough on the hot tray and bake for 10-12 minutes (mine only took 6-8 mins), or until puffed and golden brown. Wrap in a clean tea towel to soften the crust and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, repeat baking the remaining portions of dough.

Makes 3