– 3 cups (360g) white bread flour or see notes– ▢2 ¼ tsp rapid rise yeast (one packet)– ▢1 tbsp sugar– ▢2 tsp salt– ▢1 cup (240ml) water , lukewarm– ▢2 tbsp melted butter or ghee, plus extra for greasing
Measure the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine the dry ingredients. Pour in the water and melted butter. Mix together with a spoon or a dough hook until there are no dry streaks of flour and you have a shaggy, sticky dough.
You do not have to knead this dough but you can, if you have time, do a couple of “stretch and folds” after the dough has rested for 15 minutes. Grease your hands with a little oil and stretch one corner of the bread from the underside over to the middle. Turn the bowl and repeat this action a few times.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop. Gently stretch the dough to a rectangular shape. Fold the top towards the middle then the bottom over that, as you would fold a letter to place in an envelope.
Place the shaped dough in a greased 7 inch cake pan, loosely cover and leave to rise for half an hour. Meanwhile, preheat the Air Fryer to 400°F (200°C) for ten minutes. Score the top of the bread with a knife and brush the sides with a little melted butter so it doesn’t stick.
Remove the pan from the air fryer (using pot holders) and take the bread out. Place the loaf back in the air fryer to cook for a further 5-10 minutes to allow for the bottom of the bread to bake evenly. Cool on a wire rack before slicing with a bread knife.