Even though we were in the middle of a heatwave, we mixed up a batch of bread. I still marvel at the way my Mom will pour flour straight from the bag onto her bread board, expertly make a well in the centre and then sprinkle a handful of salt onto the flour.
There are no measuring cups or spoons and there certainly is no thermometer to tell us when the water is right for the yeast. It's all done by feel.
Kneading this bread dough does not take long - the less flour added the better. When it is shaped nice and smooth it is still soft and the crosses made with the edge of a knife are quite noticeable. In this heat it does not take long for it to double in size.
I shape one of the bread loaves - after the first rising it is still soft and sticky. We make three loaves of bread and there is enough dough to make two pizzas and a plateful of fried bread which we eat hot right out of the frypan.
The pizza looks great - these are tomatoes from my garden and lots of basil, garlic, parsley and olive oil.
This is the best part of baking day - fried bread with a glass of tomato juice leftover from the tomatoes for the pizza. There is nothing better then this.
