It’s been raining all week end. Last week we had a family pizza competition, in true Hollywood Oscar Night style, the winner even made a speech, so this week we needed a new challenge and decided to bake our own bread.

Bread is the best comfort food! Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread; it spreads through the house directing your steps towards the kitchen as if by magic, urging you to break off a piece to dip in olive oil or watch a pat of butter melting away… yum.

The rain did not allow us to go outside and, with these thoughts in mind; I decided to lead everyone into the kitchen to bake bread for tea. What great fun! The wood crackling merrily away in the fireplace set the mood helped along by the Buena Vista Social Club music, flour everywhere; lively conversations and we were off pounding the dough and shaping our buns of sweet bread. A winter afternoon well spent in the company of our family. The end product – delicious warm, sweet bread that instantly melted the butter, strawberry jam made last summer and piping hot tea made with melissa from the herb garden…

In order to obtain delicious sweet bread you need to measure out all the ingredients with accuracy and ensure they are at room temperature.

Method

Getting the yeast ready

1- Mix the milk with the 2 spoons of yeast and a spoon of sugar, cover and keep in a warm place for 5 minutes; it is ready when small bubbles rise to the surface.

Preparing the dough

2- Place the flour in a large bowl, sprinkle in the salt. Make a hole in the centre and join the remaining sugar, vanilla and the two eggs. Mix well using a wooden spoon. Place the dough on a floured work surface and slowly and gently add the small cubes of butter.
3- Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover and leave to rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
4- When it is ready, place it on the work surface once more, kneading it gently to release the trapped air.
5- Butter and flour a loaf tin. Put the dough in, cover with a clean kitchen cloth and leave in a warm place to rise once again.
6- When ready all you have to do is brush the egg yolk mixed with 2 teaspoons of water and place in a previously heated oven at 180ºC.