Home-baked white bread - the brightest star on the festive table

I love to receive guests - especially at the holidays. I also suspect that they like to come - not least for one warm, steaming reason: my home-baked bread.

I have two variants that I would like to introduce to you. They differ in terms of time and effort.

I use a cast-iron pot with a lid for baking both variants.

Bread for the impatient

This bread is relatively quick to prepare, even for surprise visitors, and tastes delicious.

You need:

1 kg plain wheat flour

2 sachets of dry yeast

4 tablespoons salt

650 ml warm water

Knead all the ingredients with a food processor or by hand

💚 Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place

💚 After about an hour (or when the dough has doubled in size), knead it on a floured surface and leave to rise again briefly

Baking:

💚 Preheat the oven to 230 degrees top/bottom heat with the pan uncovered

💚 Place the dough piece with the smooth side facing up and bake for 15 minutes with the lid on

💚 Reduce the temperature to 190 degrees and bake for a further 30 minutes with the lid on

💚 Remove the lid and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes at 190 degrees until done

The bread for special occasions:

Good things take time - this is especially true for this bread. You really need a lot of time and, above all, your own rye starter (sourdough - but this is neither difficult to make nor to buy). So let's assume that this is available.

First, the sourdough is fed:

30 g warm water

10 g sourdough fresh

40g rye flour

💚 Mix, cover and leave to stand at room temperature for 12 hours.

Then the yeast dough is made:

💚 Dissolve approx. 1 g of dry germ in 60 g of warm water

💚 Mix with 60 g wheat flour (type 700) and leave to stand in the fridge for 12 hours

After this time:

Mix both doughs (so that at least no large pieces of sourdough remain)

💚 Stir in 300 g warm water and dissolve the dough

💚 Add 350 g wheat flour (type 700) and 4 tbsp salt and mix well

💚 Cover and refrigerate for a further 12 hours

Now you know what I mean? It takes time, but believe me, it's worth it.

💚 After another 12 hours, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature (approx. one hour)

The baking:

💚 Preheat the oven to 240 degrees top/bottom heat (it's best to add the pan without the lid - it should be hot)

💚 As soon as the oven and pan are at the desired temperature, place the bread with the smooth side facing upwards

💚 Put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes

💚 Then remove the bread from the pan and bake on a rack on the lowest shelf for another 15 minutes

Whichever version you choose, have fun with it and enjoy the fresh bread!