Switch on the oven to minimum heat and put the pans in to warm. Mix the dry ingredients. Add the water gradually while mixing with a wooden spoon or with a dough hook on a food processor. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured bench and knead until smooth, to develop and stretch the gluten protein.

Leave to prove in a warm place, covered with a dry cloth, until doubled in bulk.

Knock down the dough, divide into two loaves, and put the dough into the warm tins which have been greased with Copha™. Cover with a cloth and put them into the just warm oven to rise until they are at least double in bulk. If your oven won’t turn down far enough, i.e. some gas ovens, choose another warm place, the car in the sun, or even a bed with an electric blanket on high, will do.

When the bread has risen, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if you like them.

Place loaves into an oven which has been pre-heated to 425°F (210°C) and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the shape of the loaves and the fullness of the oven. Half way through the cooking time, turn the temperature down to 375°F (190°C) and change the position of the loaves in the oven. Spray the loaves with water at this point if you want a crustier bread.

When cooked, turn the bread out of the tins immediately, and set it to cool on wire racks. They should sound hollow on the bottom when knocked with your knuckles.

Notes:
I weigh out the ingredients into a plastic bag, or four bags if I’m making a “full batch”. Cover the mixed dough with the empty bag, then a cloth over that, for the first rising.

Variations on a theme:

• Push pieces of black and green olives into holes pierced all over a cottage loaf before the second rising, and then brush with olive oil just prior to baking, will produce delicious foccacia.
• Add dried basil or oregano for a herb bread.
• Finely minced onion and/or garlic makes a nice addition for a barbeque loaf.
• Tapenade, pesto, diced roasted capsicum or sun dried tomatoes add an exotic flavour.

See also the sponge method, especially if you are making fat-enriched bread.

Copha™ is the trade name for a solid coconut fat.