GREEN GODDESS
OLD- FASHIONED NO- KNEAD TANK LOAF
My elderly parents, who live with me in the Hokianga, grew up on the traditional white tank loaf and, understandably, don’t really get the latest trends in bread, such as sourdough and gluten-free.
I make a sourdough loaf every few days, but have noticed they’re not exactly putting their hands up for some, yet they went a bit weak at the knees when I took this loaf over to them recently. So now, the tank loaf and the sourdough go in the oven together and keep all the residents of my home happy! This bread is fantastic because it has only four ingredients and tastes divine.
4 cups flour – use high-grade
baking flour
½ tsp granulated yeast (not Surebake, which is more suitable for bread makers)
1½ tsp salt
2 cups water, approximately
1 In the evening while you are cooking dinner or doing the dishes, find a large bowl and put the flour, yeast and salt into it. Gradually pour in the water, while stirring, until you have a nice wet dough. It should look sticky and not runny.
2 Place a plastic bag over it and put it in a quiet place for the night.
3 In the morning, take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a floured board. Shape it into a loaf and put it into a big loaf tin sprayed with oil. I use one I bought at Briscoes that is 22cm by 11cm, and nice and high at 10cm.
4 Put the plastic bag back over it and leave for 2 hours.
5 After 2 hours, put the tin in your oven, preheated to 200 ºC.
6 Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. It should be nice and golden on top, and when you tap the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow.
7 Let it cool on a rack before you slice into it or you will ruin its lovely shape.
MAKE BREAD WITHOUT THE BATTLE WITH THIS SHORT CUT