Eliza and Rose are cousins and are both 13 years old.  They launched Bake Kits as they found themselves baking a lot whilst being in isolation at home together.  Baking is the perfect way to pass time during lockdown, whether you are looking after a family or sheltering on your own. Anyone can do it, it’s calming and therapeutic, and the results are delicious. Right now lots of people are discovering the joy of making bread, cookies and pasta, although many shops are experiencing shortages of key ingredients like flour and yeast. The kits make the ideal present for people in insolation. Bake Kits have four simple kits available for sale on their site - an easy white loaf, a beautiful sourdough, an amazing cookie recipe and a delicious focaccia and pasta duo. The kits contain all the non-perishable ingredients you need and 100% of their profits go to NHS Charities Together. 

Prices start from £7.50.www.bakekits.co.uk

Eliza & Rose’s Perfect Bread Recipe

Ingredients

400gm bread flour, and a little more for dusting (supplied)

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (supplied)

1 heaped teaspoon fine sea salt (supplied)

360ml water

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients together and mix with water to combine. Make sure you have a single ball of dough, not stringy or fragmented. 

Don’t stress out over this, it should take less than a minute.

Cover loosely in the bowl with an oiled piece of clingfilm. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 14 hours, ideally overnight. The dough is ready when it has puffed up in volume, about double the original size. You should also see lots of bubbles…

Flour a sheet of baking paper and remove the dough from its container and place it on top. Fold it in half (like a book) and then fold it in half again. When you are finished folding, add a little more flour to the baking paper. Shape the dough into a ball by gently tucking the sides underneath itself. Again don’t let it stick or get too scruffy.

Place onto the paper seam side down, then cover loosely with oiled plastic clingfilm and let the dough rest again until puffy. It will start to spread out slightly as it rises - this is fine so don’t worry. The second rise will not take as long as the first, but maybe expect to wait up to two hours depending how warm your kitchen is.

Place a large casserole dish (with lid) inside a pre-heated oven (240c) for 20 minutes to heat up. When the pot is nice and hot, carefully slide your hand underneath the parchment paper and invert the dough into the warm pot. Again, take care it is properly floured so it doesn’t stick and don’t let it touch the sides. The seam should now be facing up. 

Bake with the lid on for 40 minutes (this will trap the steam inside making the bread moist). Then remove the lid, and bake for an additional 15 or until the crust is a golden brown. When your bread is done, remove it from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. It should feel light and sound hollow when you knock on the bottom. You’ll also notice a wonderful crackling sound as it cools. Let it rest for at least 1 hour. Cutting it too soon might ruin the texture of the bread, resulting in a slightly gummy dough, so be careful! The shape of this bread will be a flatter than one made in a loaf tin, but you should get a nice rise and the bread tastes completely delicious fresh or toasted.

Enjoy!