More on Bread: Easiest loaf in the world

Back in November the Guardian newspaper put out a booklet on bread and bread making. I found this:

The Half sponge Method

"The method uses what old bakers used to call the half sponge method, which is the easiest way to inject flavour into a simple loaf. All the water and half the flour are mixed together with the yeast and left until the mixture bubbles up and drops back down. It is the way bread used to be made in Britain before additives, and motor cars, were heard of. Home cooks long before me have enthused about the great flavour you get from dough left to mature for hours rather than minutes, and this recipe is in that vein.

White Farm House Tin Loaf

For the sponge

225 ml warm water (about 30 to 35 C)
1 t easy blend yeast
175 g strong white bread flour

For the Dough

175 g strong white bread flour
1 t fine salt
25g unsalted butter or lard

1. Scald a big mixing bowl with boiling water, they add the warm water and stir in the yeast.

2. Add the flour, stir it up well with a wooden spoon, cover the bowl and leave for 2-4 hours or even overnight. So, you can mix it in the morning before work, or late on a Friday night when the house is quiet.

3. When you are ready to make your dough, put the second batch of flour into a bowl and add the salt and rub the butter through until it vanishes, so there are no little lumps floating around.

4. Add the flour to the yeast, and mix the whole lot into a big, sticky lump of dough. Then scrape off the bits on your fingers, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave for 10 minutes.

5. Give the dough 3 light needs over 30 minutes, then cover and leave over a further 30 minutes.

6. Lightly flour the work surface, roll the dough into a rectangle 2cm thick that measures (from left to right) slightly less than the length of a 2 pound loaf tin.

7. Roll it up tightly and place seam-side down in the buttered and floured tin.

8. Cover the tin with a tea towel in a warm place until the dough has doubled in height. (about 1 1/2 hours)

9. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan assisted), though better if you can get to 240C (220C fan-assisted).

10. Dust flour over the dough with a tea strainer, slash the loaf diagonally a few times with a sharp serrated knife and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 200C (180C fan assisted) and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until dark, golden brown, remove from oven and tin and cool on a wire rack.

Guardian Guide to Baking, November 2007