Easy, effort-free bread recipe to knock your socks off!

I can’t claim credit for the recipe but it is so ridiculously easy, hassle free and above all tasty that I had to share it.  If you’ve never made home-made bread before because you think it is too difficult, time consuming and generally not worth the bother, then give this recipe a try, it is delicious and will give you a huge smug feeling for the whole day! :) It is knead-free and prove-free so even if you already have a good go-to recipe for bread, this recipe is still worth a try on those days when you are feeling low on energy and simply can’t be bothered with it all, we all have those for sure!

I am a big Masterchef fan and have watched a few seasons of the Australian and NZ series.  I saw Matt Preston making this bread in one of his masterclasses a couple of seasons ago and forgot about it until a while ago:   http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/no-prove-bread-with-butter-and-raspberry-jam

Not bad for a first attempt!

I’ve made this a few times now and it has turned out beautifully each time. I'm giving full credit to the recipe as not all my bread making has turned out so consistently! Fluffy insides and a nice crust, perfect weekend brunch bread.  It also makes great rolls for lunches and BBQs.  The recipe recommends a round loaf, a long loaf and two buns.  Try it that way first if you are a bread newbie and then you can play with you own shapes depending on what you prefer.  I tend to make it in to a long loaf and a tray of long, slightly flatter rolls than shown on the website, almost ciabatta-like and a bit easier to get your mouth around with some filling!

You can't beat a bit of classic ham and cheese in the freshest bread!

It takes about 5 minutes to mix up and stick in the fridge so I have found myself doing this at seemingly silly times such as 10 at night before heading to bed and even first thing in the morning before going to work … the latter in particular is a thing of miracles as I am not a morning person!  After a long spell in the fridge where it gets unbelievably poofy, all you need to do is get it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about an hour, pre-heat the oven, then plop it on some trays for baking. RIDiculously easy!  Just make sure you use a nice big bowl you won’t believe how much it rises.

Ooops, I used a bigger bowl the second time!

Best of all, it is a great bread recipe for palying around with, I've made a long loaf with some different flavours.  Feta and sundried tomato was beautiful and so was the garlic, rosemary and salt loaf. Just layer the extra ingredients in the middle of dough or place on top.

Experimenting with some different flavours

All of the kudos, none of the effort.   Hmmm perhaps I shouldn't have shared the recipe, now my secret is out!

The recipe is in the link above but as a quick reference, see below for how ridiculously easy it is :)

Ingredients 

• 1kg bread flour, plus extra to dust
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon instant dried yeast
• 950ml lukewarm water 

Method

1. For the bread, combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in water until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate overnight
2. Remove bowl from fridge 1 hour prior to cooking, and allow to come to room temperature.
3. Preheat oven to 220C.
4. Line two baking sheets with baking paper, and generously dust sheet with flour. Place half of the dough onto one tray and place in oven for 1 hour or until golden, and the inside sounds hollow when knocked on the base. Make rolls and a smaller long loaf with remaining half of dough. Bake in oven for about 40 minutes or until golden and hollow inside.