Bread

Have you noticed the price of bread lately? We used to buy wonderful sandwich bread at our local bakery, but recently they've raised their prices to $5.50 + tax per loaf and it just kills me to pay that much. So, I talked to my sister who bakes all her own bread and consulted with an old friend who also does it, and they pointed me to this SUPER EASY NO FAIL bread recipe. I've done it several times now and have had 100% success. In fact, it's almost too successful because when I take it out of the oven in the evening and it's sitting there in all it's warm crusty loveliness, Chris and I tend to eat way too much of it!

I've taken the recipe and made it even less fussy than the NY Times version and it still works wonderfully. I like to mix it up in the morning and bake it either for dinner or after dinner when the kids are in bed. I also don't mess with the "damp towel" and I prefer a smaller dutch oven which makes a rounder loaf since it can't spread out so much. I also found that it has more sourdough-like overtones when you let it rise for 18 - 24 hours - which you may prefer, but I don't. Here's my version:

Super Easy Dutch Oven Bread

Ingredients:

¼ tsp. active dry yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
3 cups flour – + more for dusting. can be white, whole wheat, or a combo…
1 ½ tsp. salt
cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting (I don't do the dusting...)

Instructions:

1.In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Set aside for 10 mintues.

2.Add flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky.

3.Cover bowl with plastic wrap or plate and let dough rest at least 5 or 6 hours (the original recipe says “at least 8 hours, preferably 12 – 18 or even 24) at room temperature (around 70 degrees). The bread takes on a more sourdough like flavor the longer you let it rest. At 5-8 hours it tastes like a hearty peasant bread.

4.The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Use a rubber spatula to scrape dough down from edges of bowl. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

5.Sprinkle a board with flour. Dump dough onto board and sprinkle a little flour on top. Fold dough over on itself once or twice. Fold into a loose ball and put back in bowl.

6.Cover with plate or plastic wrap and let rise and rest for 1 ½ hours more.

7.20 minutes before dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats.

8.When dough is ready (finished resting for the last 1 ½ hours – step 6), carefully remove covered pot from oven and lift off the lid. Dump or scrape dough into hot pot. Put cover back on and set into oven.

9.Bake for 15 minutes.(This is how I do it, though the NY Times recipe says 30 minutes for this step.)

10.Take cover off and cook 15 minutes.

11.Remove from oven and put loaf on rack.

12.Eat!