A tried-and-true recipe for first-time bread makers.

INGREDIENTS:

7g (0.5 oz) of dried yeast
(one sachet or about two teaspoons loose)

750g (1.75 lb) of flour
(flour can be made up of any mixture of wholemeal or white that you wish, but should be "strong" flour, ie containing good proportion of gluten. If using ordinary plain or wholemeal flour, include 50g (1.5 oz) of gluten flour, available from health food shops). You can also include such things as rolled oats, or any wholegrain seeds you like.

tablespoon of sugar
(white or brown, as you wish)

teaspoon of salt
(don't omit this on any account, but add more if you like salt)

hunk of butter or margarine
(about 15g (1 oz), or maybe a heaped teaspoon)

a touch less than 2 cups lukewarm water.

PROCESS:

1. Start by setting your oven on its lowest temperature - it should get to no more than about 60 deg C (140 deg F)
2. Add about half a teaspoon of the sugar to the dried yeast and mix with a half a cup of the water in a small bowl. Set this somewhere warm: I usually run some lukewarm water in the sink and stand the bowl in this.
3. Weigh out and mix the other dry ingredients together with the butter.
4. After about 5 to 10 minutes, the yeast mixture should have commenced to froth and rise in the bowl.
5. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix as well as you can. Gradually add the water. I find it easiest to mix the water and other ingredients by hand when most of the water has been added, with a kind of kneading action. The mix should not be too wet! It should just pick up the last of the dry material with a bit of effort. If it feels sticky or mushy, add more flour. On the other hand, if it cracks as you fold it, it is too dry and you should add a few drops of water.
6. Turn out onto a mixing surface. Knead by squashing the dough down flat until you can fold it over, then turn this through a right angle and repeat. If the dough feels sticky, add more flour on the board and work into the dough as you knead. Kneading is essentially a process of continued folding: flatten out the dough until you can fold it over itself. Squash it flat again... Keep going for at least 10 minutes if you can - this is easier if the work surface is not too high - you need to get your weight onto the dough and you shouldn't have to stand on tiptoe to do it. You should work up a decent sweat! At the end, you should be able to poke a finger into the dough and see it slowly push back out after you take your finger away.
7. Put the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea-towel. Turn the oven OFF and put the bowl into it. Set your timer for 45 minutes.
8. Have a cup of tea and mop your fevered brow.
9. After 45 minutes, have a look at the dough. It should have nearly doubled in size. If not, rewarm the oven for a couple of minutes and put the bowl back in for another 15 minutes. Check again. If it fails to rise, then maybe your yeast was too old - but it never fails for me.
10. Now comes the heart-breaking bit. Tip out the dough onto your work surface and punch it down, getting rid of all that hard-earned rising. Knead gently for a couple of minutes. If it feels sticky, try to introduce some more flour at this stage.
11. Turn the oven back on to its lowest setting.
12. Shape the bread and put into a well-greased loaf tin, or shape into rolls (about 100g (3.5 oz) each is good). Glaze with lightly-beaten egg.
13. Put the bread back into the warmed oven. Turn the oven OFF again. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
14. Have another cup of tea.
15. When the timer goes, check the bread. If in a loaf tin, it should have risen above the top and look like a well-shaped loaf of bread. If rolls, they should have risen considerably. If the bread hasn't risen well, rewarm the oven and try for another 15 minutes. NEVER leave the oven on while the bread is rising - it gets too hot.
16. Take the bread OUT of the oven and put it somewhere safe and not too cold. Turn the oven up to 225 deg C (425 deg F). Wait until the oven reaches the desired temperature. It takes about 20 minutes for my oven to get there.
17. Put the bread into the hot oven. Leave the oven ON this time. Set the timer for 15 minutes for rolls, 25 minutes for a loaf.
18. At the end of this time, take the bread out. Knock on it with your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it should be done. With rolls, check the underside: they should have started to brown - if they look too pale and soft on the underside, pop them back in the oven for a few minutes.
19. Take the bread out of the tin or off the baking tray and allow to cool on wire racks. Don't try to eat it while too hot, you'll burn your tongue and it won't taste of much anyway. Wait until it is just warm!
20. When cold, store in plastic bags. It freezes very successfully.