BASIL, ROSEMARY & CHIVE FLOWERPOT
This freshly made bread makes an ideal gift or simply enjoy it with friends or family at home
Provided by Angela Nilsen
Categories Lunch, Side dish
Time 3h
Yield Makes 1 loaf and 3 rolls
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Mix your choice of brown flour with the white, the yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Put in the butter and rub it into the flour. Stir in the herbs. Make a dip in the centre of the flour and pour in almost 300ml hand warm (cool rather than hot) water, with a round-bladed knife. Then mix in enough of the remaining water and a bit more if needed, to gather up any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl and until the mixture comes together as a soft, not too sticky, dough. Gather it into a ball with your hands.
- Put the dough on to a very lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until it feels smooth and elastic, only adding the minimum of extra flour if necessary to prevent the dough sticking. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured work surface. Cover with an upturned, clean, large glass bowl and leave for 45 mins-1 hr or until doubled in size and feels light and springy. Timing will depend on the warmth of the room.
- Knock back the dough by lightly kneading just 3-4 times. You only want to knock out any large air bubbles, so too much handling now will lose the dough's lightness. Shape into a ball. Cover with the glass bowl and leave for 15 mins.
- Shape by oiling and lining the base and sides of a clean, unused earthenware flowerpot (about 14cm tall x 13cm diameter) with baking parchment. Cut off ¾ of the dough, shape it into a fat sausage that is slightly narrower at one end and push the narrow end down into the pot. Shape the rest into 3 round buns. Finish by brushing the loaf lightly with water and gently pressing a sprig or 2 of rosemary into the top (soak the rosemary in cold water first to help prevent it from burning in the oven). Sprinkle with salt flakes and a little flour, and sit it on a baking sheet with the buns, also decorated with rosemary and salt. Cover all with a clean tea towel and leave for 40-45 mins, or until the loaf has risen to about 5cm above the top of the pot.
- Put a roasting tin in the bottom of the oven 20 mins before ready to bake and heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Put the risen bread in the oven, carefully pour about 250ml cold water into the roasting tin (this will hiss and create a burst of steam to give you a crisp crust), then lower the heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Bake for about 20 mins for the rolls and 30 minutes for the flowerpot, or until golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack. If you tap the underneath of the loaf if should be firm and sound hollow
Nutrition Facts : Calories 88 calories, Fat 1 grams fat, Carbohydrate 18 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 1 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 3 grams protein, Sodium 0.51 milligram of sodium
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