Baking during the work week

I love freshly baked bread – the smell and the taste and the texture too. This used to be an exclusive treat for weekends and days off, since I would normally start making the dough on the day I would bake the bread. But now I have found it to be perfectly compatible with weekday mornings too, unless I have an early shift... At any rate, my trick is to start the dough the night before and simply let it rise overnight. This can either be by reducing the amount of yeast and allowing for a slow rise of the dough, or by baking with sourdough. The next morning (yes, my alarm might need to go 5 min earlier than usual – sorry) I simply shape the loaf and it bakes while I carry on with my usual morning rituals. I can then enjoy a slice fresh from the oven, and feel that extra energy and happiness at having such a simple but fantastic treat to kick off the day.

This morning the loaves were out of the oven by 7:05 am, giving me the chance to have a slice, before dropping off my boys for school!