Ingredients

1kg Strong white flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

50g fresh yeast

75g soft butter

500ml warm water

flour to dust

Method

1. Sieve together flour and salt into a large bowl.

2. Mix in butter.

3. Cream yeast with sugar and a little of warm water, mix in remaining water.

4. Add yeast mixture to flour, mix until a soft sticky dough forms (a little extra, or less water may be needed)

5. Knead well on a very lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth.

6. Return dough to lightly floured bowl, cover with tea towel and leave to rise for about two hours in a warm place.

7. Remove from bowl and gently knock back dough.

8. Divide into three even sized pieces , shape each into a ball and gently roll the ends to form an oval shaped loaf. Repeat with remaining dough, placing each shaped loaf on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

9. Cover with clean tea towel. Leave to prove for a further one to one and a half hours.

10. When dough is well proved, have oven preheated to 220 C. Coat loaves with flour and using a very sharp knife, slash tops deeply three times. Bake until brown.