Bread rolls

One of my favourite smells is freshly baked bread, it reminds me of cold winter days when I was young, coming home freezing after sledging in the snow, my mother would make hot chicken broth and freshly baked bread. I remember breaking open the hot crusty rolls and slathering with butter which melted and dripped over my icy fingers, it was so delicious and makes my mouth water even thinking about it! 

Later in life when I was in Paris modelling I used to adore the patisseries where I would go and pick up long crusty baguettes, or fougasse flavoured with onions or cheese. Or lunches in Milan where focaccia and ciabatta made amazing sandwiches full of salami or Parma ham, such delicious memories. 

One of my favourite things to do would be to pick up some bread and a local soft cheese such as Camembert and sit in a park soaking up the sounds of the city and happily chomping away at my picnic. 

Bread is so easy to make, it's cheap too and the variety of different breads you can make at home is vast. Once you have got the basic recipe mastered you can really mix it up, mixing in chopped olives or herbs, or one of my favourites is chopped sundried tomatoes, rosemary and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. This is my basic bread recipe which never fails. 

Ingredients

1kg strong white flour, around 2.5 cups warm water, 1tbsp white sugar, 2 sachets of dried yeast, 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1tsp salt

Tip the flour on to a flat surface and make a well in the centre, put the dried yeast in the middle. Mix the sugar in to a cup of warm water and stir to dissolve, then gently pour in to the well and using your hand gently start to mix the flour in, incorporating more flour to form a paste and you have used the first cup of water. 

In the second cup of warm water add the oil and salt and keep mixing until all the flour and water is combined in to a ball of dough. 

Next you knead the bread for a good ten minutes using the ball of your hand to stretch the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. 

Lightly grease a large bowl or pan and pop the ball of dough inside, and then cover with a towl or cloth and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes to rise. 

After 40 minutes the dough will have doubled in size and be full of air bubbles. Tip it out and pat it down to knock some of the air out. Divide in to 4 pieces and roll to shape in to balls. Put on to a baking tray, score a cross in the top using a sharp knife and cover loosely with greased cling film. Leave in a warm place for a further 40 minutes to rise again. Preheat the oven to 180 celcius. 

Once it's had it's second rise, gently put in the oven on the middle shelf. Be careful not to knock it or touch it as you want it to stay light and puffed up. Quickly throw a handful if ice cubes in to the bottom of the oven and shut the door. The ice will create steam which keeps the bread fluffy with a wonderful sheen. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.