Herb bread

The following is a simple bread recipe, which tastes delicious and goes very well with soups such as mushroom or leek. I suggest making a smaller loaf than usual – ‘1 lb’ – because you will probably eat most of it at one sitting. If you’ve never made bread before, please read the recipe for Basic Bread, before making this one. If you don’t have an oven, follow the directions for The Perfect Ovenless Loaf.

You can use fresh garlic, if you prefer, but the flavour of the dried seems to permeate the bread more effectively than does fresh.

2 cups wholewheat flour 

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten 

½ tsp salt 

1 tsp instant dried yeast 

2 tbsp olive oil 

½ tsp sugar/honey 

1 cup lukewarm water 

1 tsp dried, minced garlic 

1 tbsp Annie’s Mixed Herbs

  

• Put half the flour (and the vwg) into a large bowl. Add the salt, dried yeast, (sweetener) and olive oil. Stir in the water. Mix them together into a smooth batter. 
• Add the garlic and herbs. 
• Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll it into a sausage and put this into a well-greased (or oiled) ‘1 lb’ loaf tin. Flatten it down and cover it. 
• Leave the bread to rise until it’s about 25 mm (1 inch) above the sides of the tin. 
• When your loaf is ready to cook, light the oven and cook it at a Moderate heat for about 30 minutes.
  

To enjoy this loaf’s flavour at its best, eat it warm. 

Variations:

• Use seawater instead of fresh water and salt. 
• If you have an oven, you can also use this dough to make up to 8 individual rolls.