White Cob

Today I made soup. I won't share the recipe here, but if you want to recreate something similar, the summary is: put all the random bits of vegetables from your fridge into a pan, add 1l of stock, boil then simmer for 20 minutes, whisk up and season with herbs/chilli/pepper etc. It tastes a lot nicer than this makes it sound... :D
To go with the soup I decided to try making some bread. I've done quite a few pizza bases but I've never really made bread myself besides helping Louise with her stunning focaccia.
It was so fun!!

This is the recipe I did:

Makes: 1 loaf of bread
Takes:
4 hours prep (this includes 3 hours proving)
+ 30 mins bake

Ingredients:
500g strong white bread flour
10g salt
10g instant yeast
30g unsalted butter, softened
320ml cool water
olive oil

1. Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt and yeast at opposite side of the bowl. Add the butter and 3/4 of the water. With your fingers, stir the mixture in a circular motion. Slowly add the rest of the water to incorporate all of the flour. The dough should be soft but not soggy.

2. Cover the work surface with a little oil. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes through the wet stage until the dough starts to form a soft, smooth skin and feels silky. Put the dough in a large, greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave for 1-3 hours until it is at least doubled in size and is bouncy and shiny.

 Apologies for pixellated photos


3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball by pushing it inwards to knock out the air. Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle and roll into an oblong. Turn the dough so the longer edge is running away from you and flatten it slightly. Fold the two ends in towards the centre, giving up a chucky squarish shape. Turn the dough over so the join is underneath.

At this point I had a mindblank as to what shape an 'oblong' was. There was a reason for this: it's not really a shape, it's an elongated version of a shape (can be rectangular, oval). I suppose it means 'long rectangle', essentially.

4. Now to create the smooth, domed cob shape:
With your palms turned upwards, position your hands on each side and slightly under the dough. Tuck the dough neatly underneath itself. Continue to force the sides down and underneath to create a smooth, taut top and a rough underside. Try not to add too much extra flour.

5. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Place the dough on the tray and place this in a clean plastic bag. Leave to prove for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in size (of course) and the dough springs back if you prod it gently. Meanwhile, turn the oven up to 230 degrees C/gas mark 8. Put a roasting tray in the bottom to heat up.

6. Once ready, dust your dough with some flour and then slash deeply with a knife. Add hot water to the hot roasting tray, this will create steam giving the bread a lighter crust. Put the bread in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or  until the bread is cooked and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

aaaah :( Our stupid broken tiny oven burnt the top of my bread (hence the craters). Otherwise, it was perfect! 

I then got curious and wanted to know why they're called 'cobs'
Here are some 'facts' I read on the Internet (so... they may or may not be true)

1) a cob is a large bun. A loaf techincally refers to bread that is more than one portion. But I wouldn't advise eating the whole cob on your own
2) they're called cobs because they're the same size as a cobblestone (personally, I think this one is the least likely to be true)

3) the word 'cob' was used as early as 1616 to describe a small, rounded heap or mass, for example; a cob of grain (this is still a valid definition)

The more you know, hey?

As a side note, look how beautiful and colourful this soup is