This is an easy and foolproof recipe (from Nigel Slater)
...and no-it's not with a breadmaker.
A really good and very easy white loaf
Ingredients
1 kg white bread flour, or I used all purpose one
14 gr instant dried yeast
20 gr salt
700 ml water
Instructions
Tip the flour, yeast and the salt into a big wide bowl. Pour in almost all the water and mix it to a sticky dough. Keep mixing adding a bit more flour or water until you have a dough that is soft and springy and still slightly sticky to touch.
Generously dust the working surface, turn the dough out on to the surface and start kneading. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or so. If you are getting tired that means you are kneading too hard. There is no need for that, just knead it nicely until it gets lighter and springy.
Put the dough back into bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave somewhere warm to raise. It will take about 1 hour or so.
Preheat the oven to the highest setting, 250C/gas mark 9.
Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it out onto a work surface, scraping out the dough that stuck to the bowl. Give it another short session of kneading. Place the dough bowl onto a floured baking sheet (I put it in a round cake tin). Dust it generously with flour, cover with a clean tea towel and let it double in size once again.
Once risen for a second time, tuck it back gently into a neat ball. Just a little bit on the sides. Do not knead or tap it! Just gently tuck the sides to a high ball.
Place the loaf into the oven to bake for 10 minutes. In 10 minutes turn the heat down to 220C/gas mark 7 and bake for 20-25 minutes. After 20 minutes check the loaf for doneness. It should sound hollow when tapped on its bottom. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack. Give it a time to settle before you cut it!
Cooking time: 35 minute(s)