The Dough Must Flow

Most people who make their own bread do so to control what goes in it. Bread should really only contain six or seven ingredients: flour, liquid (water or milk), oil, sweetener (sugar, honey, agave or molasses), salt and yeast.

I often add an egg to my bread to give them some squeezability; for vegans, ground flaxseed works just as well. If you want to be fancy, you can also throw in things like herbs, fruit, nuts, seeds or cheese. Some people may add dried gluten to their breads to give them more elasticity, especially if they are using flours like teff or spelt that are low in gluten.

I recently had a look at the ingredients of a popular brand of locally produced bread - one that's available in all the supermarkets here.