Pain d'epi

I love the smell of fresh bread and the warmth of a loaf fresh out of the oven. I initially thought of making a baguette and sticking some emu mince in it, but remembered seeing this wheat stalk shaped bread being made on the Hairy Bikers. With the dough having risen, it was just a matter of hitting it with a pair of scissors and shaping the loaf to resemble a wheat stalk.

Add a touch of butter and watch it disappear.



Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup luke warm water
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm water and set it aside to activate and turn frothy.
2. Mix the flour, sugar salt and yeast mixture and make a soft elastic dough.
3. Knead the dough by pressing down and stretching it with the base of the palm to get the gluten out for at least 10 minutes and leave covered in a warm place to rise.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll into a thick rectangle.
5. Roll the longer sides inwards and roll the dough to produce a baguette and place, seam side down, on a floured baking tray.
6. Use a scissor to cut into the dough at an angle of 45 degrees and through half its thickness. Turn the cut portion one way and continue down the length of the dough, turning each cut in the alternate direction as the previous one.
7. Now that the wheat stalk is ready, let it rest covered for at least 1 hour.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 190-200 degrees centigrade. Once heated, pour 1/2 a cup of water into the oven and stand back to let the steam escape.
9. Add the baking tray to the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
10. Halfway through the cooking time, pour another 1/2 cup of water below the baking tray and stand back from the steam. Close the oven door and let the bread cook.
11. After 20 minutes, the bread should have a golden brown crust. Take it out of the oven and serve buttered.