Beef Stew - Cooking like a Boss

True zero-pre-cooking slow cooker beef stew. Really tasty and very easy. Serve with mash.

500ml ¹⁄₂l 33 ¹⁄₃tbsp 100tsp 2.11cup 0.88pint boiling water			mix up in slow cooker and cook for 8-10 hours on low
⁵⁄₆ beef stock cube	crumble
1 ²⁄₃ tbsp 0.025 l 25 ml 5 tsp 0.106 cup 0.044 pint tomato purée
⁵⁄₆ tbsp 0.013 l 12 ¹⁄₂ ml 2 ¹⁄₂ tsp 0.053 cup 0.022 pint Marmite
750g ³⁄₄kg 1.65lb 26.5oz braising steak	cut into 3cm chunks
83 ¹⁄₃g ¹⁄₁₂kg 0.184lb 2.94oz smoked bacon lardons
1 ²⁄₃ onions	thinly slice
3 ¹⁄₃ carrots	peel	cut into 3cm chunks
3 ¹⁄₃ celery sticks	cut into 3cm lengths
2 ¹⁄₂ tbsp 0.037 l 37 ¹⁄₂ ml 7 ¹⁄₂ tsp 0.159 cup 0.066 pint plain flour
⁵⁄₆ tsp 0.004 l 4 ¹⁄₆ ml 0.278 tbsp 0.018 cup 0.007 pint salt
⁵⁄₆ tsp 0.004 l 4 ¹⁄₆ ml 0.278 tbsp 0.018 cup 0.007 pint dried mixed herbs
⁵⁄₆ bay leaf
ground black pepper