Let's make bread

Nothing tastes or smells quite as good as homemade bread, and it's much easier to make than you might think.

Basic bread is made from just three simple ingredients - flour, yeast and salt. The better the quality of the flour, the better the finished loaf. Waitrose very strong Canadian white flour, for instance, has a wonderful creamy colour and silky texture that results in a lovely smooth, stretchy dough. Its high gluten content gives the dough its elasticity and therefore makes a lighter finished loaf.

For a simple white loaf, all you need to add is a sachet of fast-acting yeast, a little salt and some lukewarm water to make a dough. And don't be put off by the idea of kneading the dough: kneading is necessary to get a good, evenly risen loaf - and working the dough is a therapeutic task.

Recipes

A basic recipe for a simple white loaf