Original subtitles

In Britain, we eat nearly nine million loaves of bread every day,

most of them bought in bakeries, shops and markets.

But I reckon some of the very best bread you can eat,

is the bread you bake yourself.

Great taste. Earthy, rich, full of history.

That's how all bread should be made.

I think every home is improved by it, so I want to show you

that making bread in your own kitchen

is much more satisfying than buying a loaf,

because it's a feast for your family and for your senses.

The smell of it...

the feel of it...

It's beautiful stuff.

..the look of it...

Not like the ones you buy in the shops. It's more special than that.

- CRUNCHING - ..the sound of it...

This is a beautiful loaf.

..and the taste of it.

Wow!

It just tastes so good. You've got to try it.

I want to show you that making bread is simple, really.

'You mix, you knead, prove, shape,

'prove again, then, finally, bake.'

Some loaves I show you may seem complicated,

but with time and focus, you can grasp them all,

as I will guide you every step of the way.

Once you've mastered them,

I'm going to reveal how bread can be much more than just a loaf.

It can be a meal in itself.

It's one of the only things that will keep my mouth shut!

So, there's no excuses - get baking!

In this programme,

I'm going to unwrap the secrets of some classic European breads.

From Italy, I'll show you how to make this trio -

an airy ciabatta -

which might test your baking skills -

crunchy biscotti - which won't -

and the ultimate easy-peasy pizza.

While all the way from Germany,

I learn the tricks of the pretzel trade.

There, you see? That's too fast!

I'm actually going to start by showing you

one of the most iconic breads in the world - the baguette.

The baguette's name comes from a Latin word meaning "walking stick".

So it's the long stick.

But the ones we're going to make here

are going to be able to fit in your home oven.

This recipe will make two mini baguettes.

And, like many breads, it starts with strong white flour, salt,

yeast, and quite a lot of water -

which means I'm not going to knead this by hand.

Wet dough makes it quite tricky to deal with by hand,

but the use of a mixer, or more importantly, the way the you mix it,

will make a fantastic baguette.

Now, olive oil.

It'll give the bread a bit of life, a bit of longevity.

Water - at least half straight into the bowl.

Start on its lowest speed first.

The flour will gradually absorb the water

and, at full speed, the gluten builds up, so the dough becomes

strong, but stretchy.

It looks a lot smoother now.

Drop it in the flour...

..and you can see it stretching quite well.

And smooth.

That's a lovely little dough.

That'll make two baguettes, that.

I'm going pop that into the bowl...

cover it up...

and leave it alone for two hours.

Et voila! As the French would say.

And you have a light, stringy...

glutinous...dough.

There's the structure.

The gluten's been built up... and it stretches quite a bit.

One thing I love about the baguette is the shaping.

This is very simple to do.

Stretch to get the tension.

Fold over. Flatten.

Flatten it down, fold over the top,

and again, and again, and again,

so you end up with a line down the middle.

Start in the middle...and then roll...out.

It's magic.

You get the shape. Go through it again.

Little bit of flour. Flatten it down.

Be very gentle when handling the dough,

so as not to let too much air out of it.

Fold over the top,

use the heel of your palm and your fingers all the time.

Start in the middle and then just taper.

Put a little bit more pressure on the ends and taper it off.

'I'm using a special rounded baguette tray

'that will fit into your home oven.

'These are available online and from kitchen shops.'

You need to leave that to prove for at least another hour

and it will double in size.

But leave it alone now.

'To prove, you can put it in a plastic bag

'to keep the dough from forming a skin.'

I've got a mixture here of semolina and flour.

I think the semolina adds a bit of crunch to the top.

Sharp blade, I'm going to slice three long slices at a slight angle.

You can see it's beginning to open up now.

They're perfect and ready to go in the oven.

'The next stage is crucial.'

Add a jug of water to a hot roasting tin at the bottom of the oven.

This creates steam.

The steam bath begins to coat the top of the bread

in a beautiful film which will give you that glisten, that crisp

that you want on top of a baguette.

Bake for 30 minutes at 220 degrees,

and a further ten minutes at 200.

They're crispy. Got proper colour.

'Leave these to cool on a wire, so that the steam can escape

'and the crust doesn't go soggy.'

Most of the baguettes in this country are the colour of a cloud.

Too white. You need to have that crust on it.

You need to have that deep colour

and that's what gives you the flavour.

An iconic French loaf goes well with an iconic French cheese -

Camembert.

It's been baked in the box for at least 20 minutes.

Goes lovely and soft.

Dip into the Camembert...

I'm in France already.

Viva la France, indeed.

So why not go the whole hog and make it into a garlic baguette?

The worst thing that British people do to a baguette

is saw through it with a knife, put garlic butter in it,

wrap it in a wrap and then stick it in the oven.

That's not how you do garlic bread. This is the best way.

I've got a dough here which is exactly the same one

as I made for the baguette.

'Caramelise some garlic, by roasting it with some sugar, salt and oil.'

Just crush the garlic.

Force it into the dough.

All those juices will spread out through the whole dough.

'Shape it - just like you did the standard baguettes.'

Flatten it down and then roll it up.

'This makes the best garlic bread you'll ever taste.

'I promise you, you will never go back.

'Topped off with some melted buffalo mozzarella...

'Pretty special, I'd say!'

'You can find this and other recipes at the BBC food website.

But France is not the only country with iconic loaves -

Germany has a rich tradition in baking,

with over 300 varieties of bread.

I've come to Hansel and Pretzel, to see the owner Petra

and her head baker, Andy, who have - like the famous pretzel -

moved here from Germany.

- Hello. - Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

Can you tell me a little bit about the history of pretzel?

It's typical, especially for the southern part of Germany -

so, Swabia or Bavaria.

It dates back to the Middle Ages

and it's said that it resembles the arms of a praying person.

So people used to pray like this,

with their arms crossed in front of the body.

And that's, actually, just like a pretzel.

The dough is made, portioned up and ready to use.

'I've never made a pretzel, so I've got my learner plates on.'

'Though I say it myself, I'm a dab hand at plating loaves,

so thought nothing could phase me...until now.'

It's very long.

Yeah.

'A simple looking knot is not so simple, after all!'

It's that movement, isn't it?

OK. There's definitely a challenge going on here.

See, I would actually take it back round that way.

You're flipping it back round to there, aren't you?

That's the bit where I got lost.

You lifted it up, yeah... Twist it?

Yeah. There, you see!

That's too fast!

That's better!

OK, I'll have a look at that one.

That whole twist thing I reckon comes with about 30 years' practise.

I get the same affect, at the end!

Oh, the invention of a new pretzel!

I think my way works.

PETRA LAUGHS

There you go.

I doubt that this has a future!

What I didn't expect, is that the pretzels are frozen

and then dipped in lye.

A sodium solution often used in soap making.

And that, basically, gives the nice dark brown colour.

But, of course, you shouldn't try that at home.

The dough is slashed, to produce the iconic bloom when baked.

You can smell them, can't you?

They're delicious.

How would you butter something like that?

You'd actually cut it like this

and then you just butter this part...and that's about it.

For me, they're magic.

I'm going to try and make some of these at home, actually.

- You're welcome. - You're welcome.

- Morning! - Morning, mate, you all right? - Bit chilly, innit?

'The German pretzel is thought

'to date from as early as the seventh century,

'but it's a more modern Italian bread I want to show you next.'

The ciabatta - in Italian, it actually means "slipper" -

was invented recently by an Italian racing driver.

And it was designed to rival the baguette,

as a carrier for the perfect sandwich.

And that's my kind of sandwich.

I'll show you how to make the perfect ciabatta,

which is a little more challenging than the baguette.

The ciabatta is made using a sponge - or a biga, in Italian -

not a cake sponge, but a starter dough,

which provides the foundation for a stronger, airy structure

and a more distinct flavour.

A sponge is a very traditional way of doing it.

And to make a sponge, you use half the flour that you use in a recipe.

'Add half the yeast and oil to the flour.

'You'll use the other half of these ingredients later.'

By leaving it for a long period of time to ferment -

grow and then ferment - it gives the bread an inherent flavour.

It's a very traditional way of doing it, especially a ciabatta,

because there's so much liquid in there.

'Add some cold water.

'Cold water means it takes longer to prove,

'and the longer the prove,

'the longer the yeast has to develop flavour.'

Add a little bit of oil to your table,

and then just briefly knead it,

just to bring it together a little bit more.

Once I've done this, which takes just a couple of minutes,

this can be placed back in the bowl and left to rise.

The best place to leave it

is probably in the kitchen, just covered up.

But the minimum amount of time you need to prove it is about -

depends how hot your kitchen is - but between three and six hours.

I'm happy to put the dough in like that.

Leave it alone and let nature do some work, for a change.

'You know your sponge starter is ready

'when you can see crease marks in the dough.

'These are formed by the yeast rising as much as it can,

'until it exhausts the nutrients and collapses down on itself,

'which is called "the drop".'

So this gelatinous mess is now quite stringy.

Looks like a pair of Y-fronts, to be honest.

That goes into a mixer.

'Measure the remaining flour, yeast and olive oil into the mixer

with the sponge starter.

'Then dissolve the salt in water,

'which means it disperses through the dough immediately.'

I'm going to put half of my water in...

and begin to develop the dough.

'Like the French baguette, this Italian ciabatta is a very wet dough

'which needs mixing for a long time to absorb the liquid.'

Now, this dough is beginning to develop.

Now, if you look at the mix, it looks quite mottled.

It looks like... cellulite, for want of a better word.

What you're doing is building up the gluten in this.

Now if I stretch that...

It's beginning to stretch, but it's breaking too readily.

Now that needs to be mixed for a bit longer,

but the dough has formed and once the dough has formed,

you begin to drip feed the rest of the water.

Add the water very gradually, so as not to flood the dough.

By adding the water, it loosens the gluten strand,

but doesn't break it.

So you're still trying to build up that resistance, without...

Basically, without trying to break down

the structure of the dough itself.

What you're listening for,

when you've got all the water in there,

- is not a smooth sound like that. - SOFT MOTOR-HUM

You can't hear anything.

- It's that... - HE CLAPS HIS HANDS

It's that slapping of the dough on the side.

What it's doing is, it's trying to pull together into one ball.

If it's not pulling together into one ball

it means its gluten strands aren't strong enough to pull it together

into one big ball.

Have a quick look at that.

That's what I'm checking for.

You can stretch it now. You couldn't before.

Nice, soft, elastic dough.

'Oil a square container.

'Using a square means this delicate dough needs less handling

'to shape it,

'keeping more of the air inside.'

The easiest way to bring it out, is to put some oil on your hands

and it will come out in one piece.

A little bit of a test. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.

Massive pair of Y-fronts now!

They're going to be my Y-fronts in about 20 years.

That'll go straight in.

Leave it alone.

After all that mixing,

you can see how much the dough has risen.

It's nearly up to the top - about three-quarters of the way up.

It's like a pillow.

'Sprinkle your work top with a mixture of semolina and flour.'

The reason why we heavily flour with semolina,

is to absorb the extra bit of liquid.

It's quite a liquid jelly dough.

'Because of this, it can spread, rather than rise.

'So the semolina provides resistance to help the dough head up

'and not out.'

Try and be gentle with it.

Try and get as much air in it as you possibly can.

Got a bit of a wobble to it, which is good.

'Cut the dough in half-length ways to form two rectangles,

'trying to handle it as little as possible.

'To avoid wet dough spreading outwards,

'roll each half up on its side.'

It's like going against the grain with wood.

It gives it more resistance, therefore, gives it more height.

'You have to be quick to keep the shape.

'Place them on a floured baking tray

'and leave to rest for at least half an hour...

'..before baking at two 220 degrees.

'Your loaves are baked when they are golden brown and hollow-sounding.

'Gorgeous fresh ciabatta -

perfect when dipped in some virgin olive oil.'

'It will keep for three to five days,

'but there's always ways of using it up, if it goes a little stale -

like a colourful panzanella salad,

'a dish that is thought to date from the sixteenth century.'

Panzanella salad - a beautiful, colourful Tuscan salad

which will use up any crusty bread.

'Roast and skin some peppers and cut them into strips.'

It's a way of using up any leftover bread -

the crustier the better, because they soak up more of the juices.

'Blanch and skin the tomatoes and push the pulp through a sieve.

'Add the chopped flesh to the peppers,

'and then some capers and some green pitted olives.'

So the whole thing together

is colourful, bright and full of flavour.

'To make the vinaigrette,

mix red wine vinegar with the sieved tomato juice

'and then a glug of olive oil.'

There's a lot of liquid, because the bread will soak everything up.

So the whole thing - especially with stale bread - is a sponge.

'Season.'

A bit of pepper in there.

'Add some garlic...and stir.'

All we do is rip off chunks of the bread

and drop it straight into the dressing.

Soak for an hour and that will get blended in

with all the peppers and olives and capers.

A little bit of basil. Job done.

'Perfect panzanella!'

'The bread adds texture and flavour to this colourful salad,

proving that even old bread can create a fabulous meal!'

From using up the stale bread to bread that's deliberately crunchy,

this biscotti might look like a biscuit,

but it's actually a sliced-up loaf and it's easy to make.

These sweet and tasty treats date back to the 13th century.

A biscotti, which basically means twice-baked.

That's why they're so hard and crunchy.

I'm going to show you how to make three flavours

with a beautiful hot mocha dipping sauce.

'My three biscotti are chocolate, almond and orange,

'pistachio and cranberry,

'and hazelnut and date.'

Biscotti - a classic, classic Italian bake.

You need to bake this thing twice, to get that crunch.

This gives you a very crispy mixture, indeed.

Add six eggs to the plain flour and sugar.

Into this, I'm going to add a teaspoon of baking powder.

This will be your rising agent.

I'm just going to start getting my hands in there now.

A baker can't resist getting his hands into mixes,

because then you really remember what it should feel like.

I'm feeling for something that is going to bind together.

Not too liquid.

If it's very liquid, you have to mix it for a long time,

to try and build up some stability in the mix.

Don't worry about your hands getting dirty. It's part of the trade.

And the volume of sugar in this will make it quite sticky.

Although this is a fatless mix, there is a lot of sugar in there,

so don't kid yourself into thinking you'll get slim by eating it.

I'm splitting my dough into three, for three flavours.

'For the pistachio biscotti, add the zest of a lemon...'

and little bit of bite from the lemon really adds to this flavour

and I think it adds a little bit of authenticity of Italy.

'..and some roughly-chopped pistachios and dried cranberries,

'then mix together.

'For the hazelnut and date biscotti,

'again, start with lemon zest, then add chopped hazelnuts

'and dates to the dough mix.'

The final one...is a bit special.

'For the chocolate nut and orange biscotti, add the chopped almonds,

'some extra flour to the dough and some melted chocolate.'

The general law is, once you've got a good base mix -

bread, cake or anything -

if you add a liquid to it, you must counter it with something dry.

So I've added flour to counteract the liquid of the chocolate

going in there, as well.

'Chop up some almonds.'

The addition of the almonds to this really adds to the texture,

but also to the flavour.

That blended with the chocolate - gorgeous!

'Add a dash of vanilla essence, the zest of an orange

'and some chopped-up chocolate.'

And that really adds to a biscotti.

You'll get an overall flavour, but then you're going to hit this chunk.

'Shape the three biscotti mixtures, ready for their first bake.'

Place that straight onto a baking tray.

'Bake for the first time at 160 degrees for about 35 minutes.

'And whilst they're in the oven, you can make your dipping sauce.'

I'm making, basically a chocolate sauce, to go with the biscotti.

I'm adding...some cream...

some coffee...

a good squirt of...honey.

Once that's warmed, I'll begin to add my chocolate.

But be careful, because you want to melt the chocolate,

you don't want to burn it.

Then your marshmallow finally goes in and it's ready.

'Once baked for the first time, cut into slices and bake again -

'turning half way through.'

'Get creative with your flavours.

'These are my three versions of biscotti,

'ideally served with a hot mocha dipping sauce.'

I think it's more than moreish. I think it's a must.

I've shown you breads that become lunches and deserts

but now a classic, that's right at the heart of dinner.

Pizza is one of the most popular fast foods in this country.

I certainly love it and it tastes fantastic fresh from your own oven.

It's also dead easy.

To make the pizza, you need flour, salt, yeast - basic ingredients.

'Measure out strong white bread flour, yeast and salt,

'then add olive oil and water.'

It's one of the most basic of mixes to make.

You want to make sure that you have quite a wet dough.

That's perfect... Perfect.

I make these with my son. The making side of it is part of the fun.

If you make your own dough, that encourages kids

to understand what goes in the food, as well as what goes on the food.

You can just give them a lump of dough

and let them play with it, like plasticine

and they're kneading the bread - building up the gluten,

just by playing with it -

stretching it and putting it back together again.

The dough is becoming elastic, it's beginning to stretch.

Now that...is smooth,

it's soft,

it's squidgy...and it stretches.

Now that needs to rest in a bowl for at least an hour or two.

It'll at least treble, even quadruple, in size.

Pop it in a bowl and cover it up.

Here we have our beautifully risen, light, cloud of a dough.

There she goes - sinking back down to its original size.

Beautiful smell.

Divide it up into as many balls as you want, really.

Shape them into balls.

Now these have been resting for a couple of hours.

You could shape them again and forget about them

for another three hours, if you want to.

If you've got a party - that's the way forward.

They just slow prove and that's what gives it the flavour.

'Flatten the dough balls into a size and shape you want

for your pizza bases -

'first with your fingers, then with a rolling pin.'

Keep on moving it, so it doesn't stick to the top.

It's still quite thick.

And it's all the same thickness throughout all of the base itself.

What you actually want is for it to be quite thin in the middle

and a bit thicker round the outside.

So you grab your pizza, throw it up.

If you twist your fingers up, catch it.

Never catch it on your fingers. They'll go straight through.

Catch it on your knuckle. There you go.

Thin in the middle... thick on the outside.

There are your pizza bases. Quite straightforward.

'And before baking, dust with a semolina and flour mix.'

Semolina's gritty, so when you place that base on there, it skids easy.

It lifts it slightly off the base.

'This is the perfect opportunity

'to be experimental with your ingredients.'

Gorgonzola - just rip off pieces.

Treat this almost like your tomato puree base.

I'm using caramelised onions and grated pecorino cheese.

Grate them quite big.

'And I'm adding quartered figs...

'..and then topping with Parma ham.

It acts like a cage, just to protect all the ingredients inside.

Now you get your pizza peel.

You drive it underneath the pizza base. Now that's moving.

'Bake on a bake-stone at 250 degrees for about ten minutes

'until bubbling and golden.'

Look at this!

'Perfect pizza, without any need for that oh-so-familiar tomato base.'

'I've been invited to an office party

'where I'm road-testing my pizza recipe

'with people who have never made it before...'

Good job I painted my nails, eh, guys?

'..to prove that it's not only fun, but also easy.'

Is there a technique to this?

Try and get it as thin as possible.

It doesn't really matter, just put a little pressure on it. That's it.

Oh, no, it's horrible now you're standing there.

Just open it up slightly with your fingers.

This is just to make it thinner?

It's making the inside thinner...

The centrifugal force throws it all outside.

That's it. Not bad.

That's pretty good.

'The higher you get it, the thinner your base will be,

'but you've got to be courageous.'

'And once it's thin enough, you can get creative with your topping.

It's all about getting your oven piping-hot,

'and your dough as thin as possible.'

Very cheesy! I'm sure it'll be delicious!

'Just follow these simple steps for perfect results

'when you make them for yourself at home.'

This time, I've shown you how to make

some of the most famous breads in Europe.

'If you follow my simple steps,

'you can make bread for any occasion, from France, Germany...'

There's definitely a challenge going on here!

'..and all over Italy.'

Sourdough - many bakers fear it -

but, next time, I'll show you how to master the daddy of the bread world.

Think of that as your new pet.

'Once you know how to make the starter dough

'you can begin showing off, with a white chocolate and raspberry loaf'

Fantastic!

'An olive-filled fougasse...'

It's an olive fest!

'..and my rich berry summer pudding.'

If there is one recipe you need to make before you die, it's that one.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd