I bake bread about twice a week and I’ve been doing it on and off for about three years now, experimenting with different recipes and adapting them and I think I’ve pretty much perfected my standard bread recipe which just makes a great white loaf with a crunchy crust, not too soft, not too dense, just kind of…springy. I don’t really measure things out exactly but I usually use either about half a kilo or a kilo of flour, depending on whether I want a big or a small loaf (well, duh!).

Some things that I’ve learned over the years are:

1. It’s much easier to mix everything in a bowl than just straight on a work surface. Jamie Oliver makes doing it on a work surface look cool but it’s much quicker and easier to wash a bowl!

2. Use only the four fingers of one hand to mix the dough. That means you only get one hand messy and having an extra clean thumb comes in useful too (yeah, I know that sounds pretty weird and I can’t think of any good examples but it’s true!)

3. Don’t worry too much about how much water (or other liquid) you initially add to the flour. You can always add more (or more flour if it’s too wet) during the kneading process.

4. The first time, knead the dough for at least ten minutes until it’s a soft and silky texture. If kneading it is very hard work or it seems stiff, add more water.

5. The first prove can be done in the mixing bowl. I put the bowl on top of the stove with the oven on underneath.

6. The second kneading doesn’t have to be so long. Five minutes is enough.

7. Use oil to grease the baking tray. I used to sprinkle it with flour a la Jamie Oliver but the flour just burns in the oven and smells bad.

8. To get the best shape for a round loaf fold the ends of the dough underneath. This seems to make it rise up more than sideways.

9. It’s better to prove it a bit less than you think it needs rather than a bit more. It rises quite a lot more once it’s already in the oven and leaving it to prove for too long usually results in a weird flat shape and a much stronger yeasty taste and smell.

There’s nothing quite like having fresh bread to tuck into, especially in the winter. Okay, it does take about two and half hours from the beginning until you have your lovely hot fragrant loaf but only about half an hour of that is actual hands-on time and once you get the hang of it it’s so easy that there’s really no excuse not to do it!