In Europe from North to South we have endless variations of bread. French people really love their Baguette, Brioche or tasty Croissant.
Small countries like Austria have more than 15 kinds of bread. We really love our "Schwarzbrot", also "Roggenbrot" or "Laugenbrot" , and of course our famous "Kaisersemmel". In Italy they really like Ciabatta and Focaccia.
Today I teach how to make real European homemade bread.
(This bread I am making here today is a variation that I invented myself from the basis recipe from a Ciabatta. I took away some water to make a all around tasty European-style bread. A crunchy crust and soft inside.)
To make this really easy bread you need:
- Flour
- Warm water
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Sugar
- Dry yeast
I like to make it a bit healthier so I add
- Some pumpkin seeds, almonds and oats.
(You can use any nuts you like. You can also add some dried fruits like Goji berry, grape or anything else.)
Very large number of recipes ask to mix the water and yeast first.
→To activate the yeast.
But it doesn't need to be that complicated.
This recipe is very simple——just add all ingredients in a bowl, and mix it.
Okay, let me talk about the next detailed steps.
- Just mix 15 minutes till the dough is uniform and done. (And if you don't have a machine just use your hands.)
- Cover it and place at a warm place. (I left under the sun where the temperature was high.)
- Wait for 40 minutes. (While waiting, preheat your oven 190 degree Celsius. I use the ventilated heat function. You need to try out what works for your oven because every oven is a bit different. Sometimes the temperature is not really stable, so you might need a little bit higher or little bit lower heat.)
- Use a cutlery knife to make a few strokes on the dough. (Like the image below.)
![[Image]](/upload/images/202011050048486671.jpg)
- Now put it in the oven.
- Also add a small bowl of water for a extra crunchy crust. (Put this bowl of water in the oven under the dough. Notice that I don't mean to pour it on the dough. This water will evaporate when heated and interact with the dough.)
- Then wait 40 minutes. (190 degree Celsius. )
- After cooled down, cut slices.
You don't need to make bread every day.
You can make one big portion, then slice it and put it in a paper bag, and keep it in the freezer.
Whenever you want to eat it just toast it in a pan or a toaster.
This is Real European-style homemade bread. Let's try it!