So at first I felt disapointment. Disappointment in myself, in Delia, in my pitiful looking loaf in the oven.... but then greed took over, my Easter optimism prevailed and I cut into the fresh bread. Do you know what, it's true when they say do not judge a book by its cover because it was bloody tasty. Really soft in the middle and perfectly crispy on the outside. I have convinced myself that the bread was actually supposed to only be an inch and a half high and that this is exactly what Delia would see when she opened her own oven. I'm not saying that if the bread had risen like a sun on a glorious summers day that my heart would not have welled up with pride, but I will settle with my greedy satisfaction for today.

Then the following day, my lovely friend Sarah came to visit for a nice cup of tea.I didn't really have much to offer in the way of food, so I put the second batch of dough in the oven and we feasted on fresh warm bread, cheese and pickle. A simple but much appreciated lunch and I promised Sarah I would put the recipe up. So, this is for you Sarah:

Delia's No-Knead Bread

570g flour (I used country grain but you can use whatever you want) at room temperature

2 tsp salt

1 tsp light brown sugar

2 tsp easy blend yeast

400ml water (half boiling, half cold)

Grease a 450g loaf tin (you can use a 900g tin and cook for an extra ten minutes, but I make up the dough so I can bake one loaf and keep the other half of the mix for the following day) 

If the flour is cold warm it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, sugar, yeast and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and pour in about two thirds of the water. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then add the rest of the water when the mix starts to dry up. You can just add all the water at once, but I do it this way to make sure the mix is not too wet at the end.

Form the dough into a big ball and transfer to a floured surface. Divide the mix in two and reserve one for the next day. Stretch the remaining dough into an oblong and fold one edge into the centre and the other edge over that. Fit this into the loaf tin and press down the edge of the dough slightly where the dough meets the tin. Sprinkle the top with flour and cover with a warm, damp and clean teacloth. Leave the dough to rise for at least a couple of hours.

Heat the oven to gas mark 6/400°F/200°C/180fan. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. When the bread is cooked, turn it out on to a cloth – if it is cooked it will sound hollow when rapped underneath with your knuckles. Then return the bread, out of its tin, upside down to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes to crisp the base and sides.