Italian herb bread

Tip the flour into a bowl and mix in the yeast and salt. Create a well with your hands or the back of the spoon at the bottom of the bowl. Measure out 150ml of both water and oil and stir half of the liquid.

Now bring together to make a soft dough- adding what is left of the liquid when needed. I normally use my hand for this bit but a knife or wooden spoon is fine. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ten minutes- if the bread mix is sticky put flour on your hands. Don't worry if your dough is a bit on the wet side.

Oil the bowl you used for the flour and place your dough in the centre- Add a little drizzle of oil over the dough itself as this helps it prove. Cover with cling film- making sure it tightly stretched across the top of the bowl to not let any hot air out and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hrs or till it has doubled in size. Use a spatula to scrape the dough back onto the floured surface you used earlier. Knock back the dough and knead for a further 5 minutes adding the herbs as you go- you can use different herbs then the ones suggested!

Place the dough on a baking tray or if you want a proper loaf shape-a loaf tin! and again cover the tray in cling film and leave in a warm place till it doubles in size. When it has done this, uncover and bake your bread at 180C/160 fan/gas 6 for 15- 20 minutes till hollow. Allow the bread to cool for at least 5 minutes before you try to cut or taste the bread.