Steve's website

This is our simple website - running on a beaglebone black, it hosts our favourite recipes and cakes, and things that interest us. There's an area for the kids for when they start to learn computing at school, and a personal blog for us all

Breads

Fougasse


10g fresh yeast or 1 tsp easy blend dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour
10g salt
350g water
200g maize flour or white flour for dusting

Rub the fresh yeast into the flour using fingertips as if making a crumble, or stir in the dried yeast. Add the salt and water. Hold the bowl with one hand and mix the ingredients around with the other (or use the rounded end of a scraper) for 2-3 minutes until the dough starts to form. Begin to work the dough.

Once worked you can flour your work surface lightly, place the dough on top and form it into a ball by folding each edge in turn into the centre of the dough an pressing down well with your thumb, rotating the ball as you go.Turn the whole ball over and stretch and tuck the edges under. Rest in bowl in a warm place under a tea towel until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 230C (or as high as the oven will go) an hour in advance and put in a baking stone, flat baking sheet or upturned roasting tin. Flour the work surface well. Use the rounded end of a scraper to release the dough, so that you can scoop it out easily in one piece and transfer it to the work surface without stretching it. Be carefull not to deflate the dough but spread it out to cover a square of work surface. Generously flour the top.

Using the flat edge of a scraper, cut the dough into two rectangles, and then cut each piece into three rectangular pieces. Handle the dough as gently as possible so that it stays light and full of air. Keep the pieces well floured

Take one piece of dough and use the flat edge of a scraper to make a large diagona cut across the centre,

making sure that you don't go right to the edges but cut all the way through onto the work surface. Make three small diagona cuts fanning out on each side of the centra one. Cently open out the slits to form holes. Be bold.

Lift onto a flat-edged baking tray and slide on to the hot baking stone or tray. Do this quickly to avoid letting heat out Turn the oven down to 210C and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.