Well, since today is a Wednesday, that means it's time for a baked item or crafty project. Today, our project will be making the easiest bread you've ever made! To me, that idea of making a nice fresh loaf of bread has always been daunting. I mean, who has the patience to let something sit for 12 hours(!) before you can actually do something with it! The bread recipe i've included below is so simple. The total time from prep to fnish only takes about 5-6 hours. Definitely a morning or afternoon project. Plus you can leave it to run errands and come back to beautifully risen dough!
Easy Artisan Bread
For this recipe, you will need:
- 3 cups lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other course salt (I would use a little less salt than this. My bread turned out a little saltier than I had anticipated.)
- 6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I accidentally ended up using half unbleached and half bleached and it still turned out just fine)
- cornmeal for pizza peel (optional)
2. Pour in the 3 cups luke warm water and stir.
It will all start to get sticky and clump together. That's good!
3. Cover with greased plastic wrap or foil and let sit for 2-5 hours. (I let mine sit for only 3.5 hours and it turned out just fine. Like I said, I really don't like having to wait to do something. We killed time by going to the Tulsa Home and Garden Show.)
The dough will rise to about 3-4 times its original size. This picture is when it's only about halfway done sitting.
4. Remove the plastic and try cutting the dough into 3 even chunks. (the dough will sink down a little when you cut into it) I ended up just tearing mine apart into 3 chunks because my knife wasn't sharp enough. Using floured hands, form dough into 3 even balls and lay on floured cookie sheet or pizza stone. (I tried it on both surfaces to see which worked better.)
6. Using sharp knife, make 3 parallel cuts (or 4 crisscross) in the top of the dough. This allows for the bread to vent.
7. Preheat over to 5450 degress F and set a pan filled with 1 cup of water on the bottom rack. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack to cool. (mine only took 30 minutes to bake, but each oven varies.)
Mmmmm! Don't they look so yummy baking??
Concise Bread Directions:
1. In a large bowl, start by adding together your flour, salt and yeast.
2. Pour in the 3 cups luke warm water and stir.3. Cover with greased plastic wrap or foil and let sit for 2-5 hours. (I let mine sit for only 3.5 hours and it turned out just fine. Like I said, I really don't like having to wait to do something. We killed time by going to the Tulsa Home and Garden Show.)
4. Remove the plastic and try cutting the dough into 3 even chunks. (the dough will sink down a little when you cut into it) I ended up just tearing mine apart into 3 chunks because my knife wasn't sharp enough. Using floured hands, form dough into 3 even balls and lay on floured cookie sheet or pizza stone. (I tried it on both surfaces to see which worked better.)
5. Let the dough balls sit for 30 minutes. (I went and cuddled with my doglet to pass the time.)
6. Using sharp knife, make 3 parallel cuts (or 4 crisscross) in the top of the dough. This allows for the bread to vent.
7. Preheat over to 5450 degress F and set a pan filled with 1 cup of water on the bottom rack. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack to cool. (mine only took 30 minutes to bake, but each oven varies.)
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