I have been for some time now wanting to delve into bread making. I have put off this high adventure for many reasons, none of them good or even sensible. The biggest reason of all being that I hate to fail. Who doesn't want to be good at what they do right?
I wanted my family to ooooohhhh and aaaaahhhh with delight when they walked into our crowded little house to find the smell of a fresh loaf overwhelmingly scenting the air!
To have them approach me with adoring eyes and little hearts filled with love as they wait to have the first slice of barely cooled bread.
To have them begging on bended knee "Please sir can I have some more???" (circa 1988, Oliver Twist quote which I have kept with me from my high school musical days!) And, of course they would say Ma'am in my dreamy scenario.
To have them...
well I think you get the picture. I wanted my family to really dig this bread making thing in a big way, unlike how they reacted to my first attempt at Chicken Divan. Oh, it was good, in fact it was really good. They are just not ready for all of the wonderfulness out there available to them. They also ask me not to grill steak, as I am really good at burning it. I acquiesce to this truth!
What it comes down to is this...I wanted to try my hand at bread making and not crash and burn.
I came across a particular recipe over and over again and finally went to the referenced website to check out what all the hub bub was about. I read too many reviews to number, of people who claimed to have made fantastic bread with a simple recipe, and in only 5 minutes a day with no kneading.
I have a particular problem with my joints at this point in my life, those in my wrists are especially affected. It is important to me as an artist not to stress them out too much and thought this might be my bread downfall. So, when I read that there was no kneading in this recipe, I was hooked for a try.
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day is the book and website from which the recipe comes.
You simply must throw off all excuses and make this recipe.
As soon as possible.
People will swoon, children will come running and throw themselves at your feet, your husband with look at you adoringly and say "Dear lovely wife, please hack me off another hunk of that really good bread you've got there next to you" hee hee hee.
All of my murky bread dreams became reality as I successfully pulled loaf after loaf of this delicious crusty bread out of my oven. I want the same for you! If you don't have bread dreams of your own, use mine...that is fine with me.
Let us begin with the first hurdle to overcome.
Fear of killing the yeast!
I have a very dear friend who is a bread maker extraordinaire who explained it like this.
Yeast is much like you. It doesn't want the water too hot, or too cold. Run the water in the tap until it feels like the perfect temperature for taking a bath.
Well, I don't know about you but I have run some baths in my time and knew immediately just what she was talking about. Just warm enough to want to sink in and enjoy, but not too hot that it makes you want to jerk your testing toe out quickly.
Ok, next hurdle.
Truthfully, after making this recipe 3 times now, there is no next hurdle!!
Ingredients:
3 cups water ("sink into the tub" temperature water!)
1 1/2 Tbs. Kosher Salt
1 1/2 Tbs. Yeast
6 1/2 cups flour
King Arthur got to make this journey with us. He contributed 3 cups of White Whole Wheat flour, the other 3 1/2 cups were Hodgson Mill Naturally White Flour.
I am finding I am a bit of a flour snob, and I am okay with that. I just truly love that both of these labels say INGREDIENTS: Wheat Flour (unbleached and unenriched) Ahhhh simplicity. I need more of that in my life.
Pour into a large bowl or container which has a lid the 3 cups of water.
Sprinkle in the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt and watch it settle to the bottom. Always do this first, as yeast doesn't take kindly to a direct salt attack.
Next, sprinkle in the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of yeast. You can then go tackle a quick chore while the yeast proofs. That just means it is proving itself worthy to serve with King Arthur, cause he is a bit picky about his companions.
You should see little signs of life from this mixture, I just don't have the time right now to get into fancy descriptions. If you are feeling terribly uncertain about it, well then by all means google and learn!
After about 5 minutes, return and dump in all of the flour and stir until it is moistened.
Smacking forehead with hand.... Why in the world I haven't thought about using my stand mixer to do this until just this very minute is beyond me. Sigh, next batch!!
Notice how my bowl is all messy. That is the dough from the previous batch. The authors of the book say to keep that around as it adds to the flavor of future batches. Just another perk of this particular bread, no bowl washing! Just mix until the flour is incorporated, then rest the lid on top and let it rise. Do not cover it tightly!
Yikes, I can see that I am running out of time for blogging today. I have more drawing due, and have set myself a time limit, so while I normally like to write an eloquent fun to read blog; today you are just gonna get dumped on. Sorry, but the week isn't gonna get any better and you must make this bread!!!
Mine usually rises in about 2 hours time. They say you know it is ready because it rises and then starts to settle again. See how high it has gotten in the bowl!At this point you can put the lid on and put it in the fridge, taking out a grapefruit sized hunk to use when you are ready to bake.
Or, you can prep a loaf to cook immediately! You will need a surface that has been dusted with cornmeal, because this stuff is sticky!
I advise you to dampen your hands and then grab a chunk of the dough. You could flour your hands instead, but the dough is a wet dough and we don't want to drag it down with too much more flour.
Oooch the dough down on itself with your hands. Come on, you have seen bakers do this oooch thing. Kind of rolling the dough down on itself hiding all the weird places on the bottom. Now set it out to rise for about 40 minutes.
At the 20 minute mark set your oven to 450 degrees and insert a baking stone or cast iron skillet.
At the 40 minute mark, dust the top of the bread with flour and hack a few slashes in it.
Next,slide your bread onto the heated pan and let it cook for 30-40 minutes, or until a lovely brown color. Oh, I almost forgot a wonderful baking secret. Place a separate pan on the bottom oven rack with a cup or so of water in it. This will cause steam during the beginning stages of the baking, which in turn causes a crispy crust.
Check out page 4 of this tutorial to get you through all of this with much more detail than I have time to sketch out for you here. Thanks to another buddy who referenced that page! In the article it talks about the bread taking on a sourdough taste to it. I haven't had a batch around long enough to have that come about yet...but I wouldn't be opposed!
My 4th loaf was the most gorgeous of all, but it was consumed so rapidly that I didn't have time for a photo.
Why am I so very insistent that you make this bread? Because...
my family to ooooohhhh'd and aaaaahhhh'd with delight when they walked into our crowded little house to find the smell of a fresh loaf overwhelmingly scenting the air!
and...my children approached me with adoring eyes and little hearts filled with love as they waited to have the first slice of barely cooled bread.
and...my oldest son who is not much of a love muffin ran into the kitchen and said "I just have to hug you Mom and uuuuhhhh are you gonna be making that bread again soon?"
and....
Well, I think you get it. My family loves this bread, they are adoring fans! I didn't crash and burn!! I ordered the book! I know there is so much more to learn about this, but how very nice to have such a success right out of the gate.
AAAhhhhhh I am so frustrated. My time is up and I have so much more to tell you about this. I want to tell you about the flax seed and baking it in my deep covered baker instead of using the pan of water, and how the crust gets all crispy and the inside is chewy and perfect.
I will be back later than sooner I am afraid, so until that time....read up on these referenced pages, because in my rush today I am just sure I have left something important out!!
I beg of you....bake some bread!!!
