Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Cottage Loaf


Nearly a year ago I planned to make this loaf  and I made it at last  two days back.  I'm happy that atleast I made it after a year later.   Cottage loaf is a traditional English style, I don't know why this name as Cottage loaf, but I like this name a lot.  I always adore the old classical cottage style houses.  In India you can hardly see these cottage style houses even in rural area but in most of the western countries, atleast in UK you can see this heritage is maintained.  The uniform style of Victorian houses in the street, is really lovely.  Actually there is a lot to talk about these Victorian and Cottage houses, but at the moment I feel very sleepy, so I better go to the recipe now.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes+ rising time
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Makes 1 large loaf

Ingredients:
Bread flour- 450 g
Dried yeast- 2 tsp
Warm water- 300 ml
Honey- 2 tsp
Mixed dried herbs- 2 tsp( optional)
Olive oil- 1/2 tbsp
Salt- 1 tsp

Method:
Sift the flour in a large bowl,  add the salt , dried herbs and yeast mix it well.  Make a well in the center add the oil, honey and water little by little to make it into a smooth dough.  Knead the dough for 5 minutes to make it smooth and elastic.  Place the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover with a cling film.  Leave it in a warm place and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.
  Take the dough, punch the air back, divide the dough in two, one larger than the other.  Take a baking sheet, dust it with flour, place the larger dough at the bottom and the smaller one on the top.  Cover loosely and leave it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
   Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220 degree Celsius.  Take the dough, with a sharp knife make 8 slashes on the top dough and 12 slashes on the bottom dough.
   Oil a  back of the wooden spatula and insert it right into the middle of loaf and take it out to create a whole in the middle.  Mix 2 tsp of salt in 4 tbsp of water and brush it on top of the loaf.  This will give you a nice crusty loaf.
   Bake the loaf in a preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until it looks crusty brown colour on outside.
  You can serve this bread sliced with cheese, cold meat and salad or with a warm bowl of soup.

This recipe goes to Yeastspotting, AWED- British hosted by Reva  originally started by DK of Chef in You.

56 comments:

Kurinji said...

Wow very tempting Loaf....

kurinjikathambam
Event: Healthy Recipe Hunt

Unknown said...

oh wow Umm...that look absolutely gorgeous!....I love crusty breads and this one really tempting maybe...looks sooo good!!
Smitha
http://smithasspicyflavors.blogspot.com/

Ila said...

Loaf looks lovely and nice click :)

schmetterlingwords said...

Cottage loaf looks lovely... Today evening, I'm going to prepare Peas and Mint soup. If I have time, I could prepare this loaf too :-)

Angie's Recipes said...

wow this cottage loaf looks fabulous!

My Kitchen Antics said...

hmm now im wondering y its called cottage loaf...good pic.

Vimitha Durai said...

Tempting and artistic to look at... :) After an year, a successful attempt dear...

Nithya said...

Wow.. you are such a recipe factory :) your recipes are just too awesome and I am a fan of your clicks too :)

Sushma Mallya said...

looks perfectly baked,nice one to try...

Binys Recipes said...

wow great recipe dear

Priya Suresh said...

Prefectly baked elegant cottage loaf...

divya said...

Gorgeous and super delicious ...

KrithisKitchen said...

Cottage loaf looks fabulous...
http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com

Tahemeem said...

Wow.. thats a beautiful bread.. love the shape :)

Ana Rita Marreiros said...

Great photo...Lovelly loaf!!

Kisses,
Rita

Shanavi said...

U rock gal and thatz a big loaf and looks so delish

Anonymous said...

This looks like an easy first time breadmaking recipe! I'll have to try it!

SchmetterlingWords said...

You have a special mention in my blog, check it out!

Suja Manoj said...

Loaf looks superb, home baked is the best,flavorful and delicious.

Malar Gandhi said...

Never heard of it, looks incredible...hearty and inviting.

Victoria said...

I've never heard of cottage loaf before, but it definitely is a lovely looking bread!!

NIDHYA said...

Lovely bread..Adding herbs is a great way to flavor it up.

Aaha Oho

Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen said...

This looks SO delicious! Thanks for sharing! :)

Torviewtoronto said...

beautiful loaf looks good

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Cottage loaf looks awesome and fulfilling. Too good !

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Unknown said...

I absolutely love this one..ur making me hungry

Reshmi Mahesh said...

This looks yummy...

the Junkie book said...

i still haven't baked my first bread tho i've been flagging a lot of them. thanks for this recipe...

Anonymous said...

Hi, thanks for commenting on my blog. Love the pics on yours, looking forward to browsing through all the posts.....bye....

Radhika said...

The loaf looks super duper crusty.

cook from doha said...

i like all your bread recipes nd like u i hav also been thinking for so long to try some.....maybe nxt year ill try..........

Raji said...

This is loaf is looking marvellous..beautiful shape..you are an excellent bakerina..

veena said...

wow!!!! it looks so cute Ayeesha

Nandita SS said...

The cottage loaf looks great. Bet it would have tasted just as great :)

Sandra said...

Believe me reading this post is only bringing water in my mouth. Thanks for sharing.

Nandinis food said...

The loaf looks very exquisite and elegant.

Zareena said...

Wow Ayeesha, nice clik, yummy loaf. You are perfect baker dear.

sweet artichoke said...

Oh my! it looks perfect: crunchy and delicious! There is nothing like home-baked bread :-)

Shobha said...

Wow!
This is awesome...I have bookmarked this one.

Vidya Chandrahas said...

Loaf sounds delicious and tempting...beautiful clicks too

Pavani said...

Awesome loaf..

sharada said...

i too love the phrase "cottage loaf"
so rustic.
the bread looks just perfectly baked...wow!

Menaga Sathia said...

perfectly baked & looks gorgeous...

Violet said...

We'd love to have you feature some of your dishes at kitchenartistry.com

Mythreyi said...

Looks So Rich and Wonderful. Love It.

-Mythreyi
Yum! Yum! Yum!

Anonymous said...

This loaf looks delicious! I bet it was really yummy! :)

Jaisy James said...

perfect looking loaf

Plateful said...

Love it, Ayeesha. Looks so rustic and perfect!

Ambreen (Simply Sweet n Savory) said...

Wow! Tempting picture....Looks fantastic!

Archana said...

Lovely. delicious.My experiments with baking bread are generally a failure. So this is amazing.

aipi said...

That is one beautiful looking loaf..perfect bake!


US Masala

Pavithra Elangovan said...

absolutely scrumptious.. too good and seriously tempting.

Suchitra Vaidyaram said...

Fantastic job! loved the loaf :)

sangeeta said...

Beautiful loaf , am tempted to break a piece from it and dunk in a thick tangy soup:)

Rumana Rawat said...

Loaf looks so beautiful and tasty:)

scrambledhenfruit said...

What a gorgeous loaf of bread! I think that if I had a loaf like this I could have it with tea and close my eyes and easily pretend to live in a little rose covered cottage. :)

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