Not Quite Silo Bread

I used to think the various breads from Silo Bakery were the best artisan breads to be found in the Southern Hemisphere, but in recent times the bakers at Three Mills seem to have surpassed them with their various sourdough constructions. I would rate their offerings as 9/10, while the bread that I provide a recipe for below is about an 8/10. This originally came from the Canberra Times’ Food and Wine pages so you shouldn’t be too surprised to see it circulating around town in various forms.

Of course, the benefits are found in availability (whenever & wherever you like, as long as you have ~ 12 hours’ notice) and cost (about $1 per loaf as against $6-$8 for the Silo or Three Mills creations).

I have made this bread almost every week for a couple of years & it works every time.

Mix together:

1kg breadmakers’ flour

1 tablespoon dried yeast

1 tablespoon salt

820g warm water

Place in fridge overnight to prove. Next morning remove mixture from fridge and allow to warm to room temperature. Turn out onto floured surface, cut into two equal portions and shape into a rough ciabatta form. Place in cold oven and set to bake for 45 mins at 220°C.

Other things I have discovered while making this bread:

1. This makes two loaves – often just halving the recipe for one loaf is enough.

2. For a more rustic result, use wholemeal flour on the floured surface.

3. Once you have proved this works for you, it may be worthwhile investing in a proper bread pan (I got mine from Essential Ingredient in Kingston).

4. I tend to use Laucke’s Wallaby breadmakers’ flour – found in Coles (and often Woolworths) in 5kg bags – but have had satisfactory results with ordinary plain flour as well.

Here is an example of the sort of loaf you can expect!