My basic bread recipe is 250ml warm water and 1 tsp easy yeast mixed up with one and a half cups of strong white flour. At this stage I also add some seeds – linseed, poppy, sesame, sunflower, whatever I’ve got or feel like. I reckon the yeast can happily feed on the wheat without recourse to sugar or honey if you leave it in a sponge for long enough. So I tend to leave the sponge at least three hours, if not longer – like all day.

To make up the dough, add 1 tsp salt, 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid powder (which I’m experimenting with) and another cup and a half of flour. I tend to mix it up flour-wise – wholewheat, granary, whatever I’ve got, whatever I feel like!

I’m pretty casual about my kneading – maybe do the Dan Lepard method of three short kneads over the course of half an hour, or loose variations of that. Then leave for another hour or so to rest, knock back, put in tin and leave. I forgot I had one proving and left it for nearly two hours – I thought it’d over-rise and have bit airy gaps, but it was actually great, so I tend to leave them quite a while in the tin now, till they’re coming over the edge nicely. Then 25 mins in hot oven (fan over at 220c).

When it’s baked and a knock on the base sounds good, wrap in a damp tea towel – this keeps the crust nice and soft.

With this one (which was about two thirds white, some wholemeal, some granary, some other seeds), it was last thing at night, so I wrapped it in the towel then put it under a large mixing bowl to stop the cats getting at it. This kinda steamed it, as there was a fair bit of condensation in the bowl this morning. The result is lovely and soft. Best loaf I’ve made and long way from some of the dense, hard-crusted breads I’ve made during the old learning process.