first bread of the year
Today was a pretty lazy day. A few little things needed to be done after our little vacation, but nothing major. Hubby went to the grocery store last night, so we had staples already. I had thought about making a loaf of wheat bread, but he got some at the store and homemade bread doesn't keep that long. Less baking than I had planned.
Or not. My only request for my spouse today was that we decide what was for dinner before dinner time. He decided that he wanted spaghetti with red sauce and French bread. In lieu of making a trip to the store for a loaf of bread, I said I would come up with something. The trouble with that "something" being that most crusty breads that would be good with saucy pasta take two days to make. The big air holes in the center of the loaf come from lengthy fermentation, usually started by a poolish which takes 12-24 hours. Dinner was in three hours.
Enter my favorite baking site, King Arthur Flour, and the intriguingly-named recipe for The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake. Huh. It's a very straight-forward recipe with a fairly wet, smooth dough that made it pleasant to work with. Like so:
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake adapted from King Arthur Flour
1 T sugar
5 1/2-6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 T (1 packet) yeast
1 T salt
corn meal for dusting
2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)
2-3 cups boiling water
1.) Pour warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand about five minutes. Measure out flour and salt in another bowl and combine.
2.) After five minutes, stir yeast mixture until the yeast and sugar are dissolved. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until the ingredients pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3.) Scrape dough onto a floured surface - this may be messy. Knead the dough by pulling the farthest edge towards you and folding it over. Now press away with the heels of your hands in a rhythmic pattern, turning the dough 90 degrees each time. Knead for about five minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
4.) Let the dough rest while you oil a large bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place in the oiled bowl, turning once so the dough is coated evenly. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
5.) Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down the dough and briefly knead out any large bubbles. Divide the dough in half and shape into two Italian or French-style loaves. Place on cookie sheet and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
6.) Now you have two options:
Quick method: Lightly slash the tops 3 or more times diagonally and brush with cold water. Place on rack in cold oven. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 40 minutes until crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch.
Traditional method: For lighter, crustier bread, let loaves rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450°F for 15 minutes. Pour 2 to 3 cups of boiling water into roasting pan. Carefully place on oven bottom. Place bread on rack above pan and bake 20 minutes. Turn oven off and allow bread to remain for 5 more minutes.
Remove, cool and devour!
I used the "traditional method" of letting the bread rise for 45 minutes. The loaves had a great spring when I put them in the oven. Next time I will space them better! It was a nice accompaniment to our spaghetti, and a really easy recipe to make. It uses all-purpose flour and everything!
It's more like grocery store Italian bread than a baguette, but I liked it. The crumb is nice and the crust has a good bite to it. Though not light and airy like a baguette, it only took a few hours! It's still soft, though, and I think it would make really yummy sub/hero sandwiches. My next inclination is to use it for French toast tomorrow. The soft center seems like it would soak up the batter nicely. That sounds lovely. If so, I'll take better pictures. =)
Or not. My only request for my spouse today was that we decide what was for dinner before dinner time. He decided that he wanted spaghetti with red sauce and French bread. In lieu of making a trip to the store for a loaf of bread, I said I would come up with something. The trouble with that "something" being that most crusty breads that would be good with saucy pasta take two days to make. The big air holes in the center of the loaf come from lengthy fermentation, usually started by a poolish which takes 12-24 hours. Dinner was in three hours.
Enter my favorite baking site, King Arthur Flour, and the intriguingly-named recipe for The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake. Huh. It's a very straight-forward recipe with a fairly wet, smooth dough that made it pleasant to work with. Like so:
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake adapted from King Arthur Flour
1 T sugar
5 1/2-6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 T (1 packet) yeast
1 T salt
corn meal for dusting
2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)
2-3 cups boiling water
1.) Pour warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand about five minutes. Measure out flour and salt in another bowl and combine.
2.) After five minutes, stir yeast mixture until the yeast and sugar are dissolved. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until the ingredients pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3.) Scrape dough onto a floured surface - this may be messy. Knead the dough by pulling the farthest edge towards you and folding it over. Now press away with the heels of your hands in a rhythmic pattern, turning the dough 90 degrees each time. Knead for about five minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
4.) Let the dough rest while you oil a large bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place in the oiled bowl, turning once so the dough is coated evenly. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
5.) Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down the dough and briefly knead out any large bubbles. Divide the dough in half and shape into two Italian or French-style loaves. Place on cookie sheet and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
6.) Now you have two options:
Quick method: Lightly slash the tops 3 or more times diagonally and brush with cold water. Place on rack in cold oven. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 40 minutes until crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch.
Traditional method: For lighter, crustier bread, let loaves rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450°F for 15 minutes. Pour 2 to 3 cups of boiling water into roasting pan. Carefully place on oven bottom. Place bread on rack above pan and bake 20 minutes. Turn oven off and allow bread to remain for 5 more minutes.
Remove, cool and devour!
I used the "traditional method" of letting the bread rise for 45 minutes. The loaves had a great spring when I put them in the oven. Next time I will space them better! It was a nice accompaniment to our spaghetti, and a really easy recipe to make. It uses all-purpose flour and everything!
It's more like grocery store Italian bread than a baguette, but I liked it. The crumb is nice and the crust has a good bite to it. Though not light and airy like a baguette, it only took a few hours! It's still soft, though, and I think it would make really yummy sub/hero sandwiches. My next inclination is to use it for French toast tomorrow. The soft center seems like it would soak up the batter nicely. That sounds lovely. If so, I'll take better pictures. =)