Pan Loaf

Step 1

Weigh out and mix together all the ingredients using a wooden spoon. It should form a rough and sticky dough – once all the flour is mixed in, cover it with a sheet of cling film. Leave it to rest for about half an hour.

Step 2

Once rested, fold the dough over inside the bowl until you’ve forced all the air out of it. Re-cover with cling film and leave for a whole hour. If you’ve got to go out at all, or are baking late at night, just place your dough in the fridge for anything up to a day. Whilst it’s resting, grease a loaf tin with plenty of butter – make sure you rub right down into all the corners.

Step 3

Now it’s time to ‘shape’. Flour a work surface generously, and lay your rested dough out on it. Sprinkle a little more flour on top and push it down into a flat rectangle. The short side of the rectangle should be as wide as your loaf tin.

Step 4

Roll your rectangle up as tightly as you possible can – just like a swiss roll, but tight. Roll the dough around beneath your hands to smooth the seam then place seam-side down in your tin.

Step 5

Leave your dough to rest in your tin for about an hour, or overnight in the fridge. About 20 minutes before you’re going to bake, preheat your oven to 210C/190C fan.

Step 6

Just before your loaf goes in the oven, make a 1-2cm cut with a bread knife down the length of the unbaked loaf. Place straight in the oven, and if you can, throw half a cup of water onto the oven’s side to create some steam for a nice crust.

Step 7

Bake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove from the oven and plonk the loaf out of it by bashing it on a surface using some oven gloves. Place the bread back on the oven shelf for another 10-20 minutes until a really dark golden brown.

Enjoy!