Tradtional Maltese Bread is a crusty sourdough which is literally to die for! It is the perfect accompaniment to any mediterranean antipasti or simply spread with butter and digest. In Malta it is mostly enjoyed by spreading tomato paste or fresh tomatoes with plenty of olive oil and other traditional accompaniments such as bigilla (a dip made out of dried fava/broad beans). This recipe has been tried and tested several times to reach perfection and we are so happy that we have finally succeeded and are able to taste Maltese Bread away from home and share it with you!

Ingredients – Makes 1 bread approx 450g

Part 1 (mother dough to be put in fridge overnight)

• 200g strong white flour or plain flour
• 2g salt
• 2g dry active yeast
• approx. 100ml water (no need to be tepid)

Part 2

• 200g strong white flour or plain flour
• 2g salt
• 2g dry active yeast
• approx. 100ml tepid water

Method

1. Start by preparing the mother dough by mixing the flour, salt and yeast in a medium bowl. Add water slowly and continue mixing until a dough is nicely formed. You don’t want a wet dough so whilst adding water, knead well until all ingredients are very well combined. If you see that dough is difficult to knead, wet your hands with water and continue to knead. Switch to work top to give it a final knead.
2. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
3. The day after, take out the prepared dough from fridge and let set until you prepare another dough with the same amount of ingredients REMEMBER the water needs to be tepid this time. When ready, mix both doughs together and knead very well.
4. Cover with cling film and let it prove at room temperature for 2 hrs. Please note that if you have a cold kitchen it will take more time to prove so if you can put it in a warm place such as on top of your cupboards or fridge.
5. After 2 hrs, knead the dough, you can either half it to make 2 small breads or leave it as a one big bread and give it a round shape.
6. Grease a baking tray with some olive oil and put dough to prove again for another 2 hrs, this time leave dough uncovered and again in a warm place.
7. After 2 hrs, sprinkle some flour on dough and if you wish make a cross sign on top with a knife. Bake in oven on mark 7/220C. You can put it straight into a cold oven, no need to pre-heat. Leave to bake for around 30-45 minutes. After the first 10 minutes you can remove bread from the dish and place it directly on oven shelves so heat will be well distributed all over. If you like it crusty, turn the oven on full heat for the last 10 minutes.
8. Let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack before slicing. This step is important as you will see and hear the crust cracking naturally, it will make the bread look perfect!