The Bread Recipe

[kib]

This is a link to the easiest artisan bread recipe in the world, it's the original one that was posted on the old forums. :~) Yum!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html


ETA: Thank you to Bae for posting this originally. IMHO it just might be the most magical thing that ever came to me from the forums, I am now known as 'the woman who makes that amazing bread'. :thankyou:

[razz]

Oh, for the first time, I realize that I can bake four loaves at once. I thought that each had to be baked separately which consumed a lot of energy. Will try this now.

[Raziela]

good call, kib, on resurrecting this one!

[Amaranth]

I love how all the fermenting time gives more flavor to the bread.

The authors continue to post related recipes on their website and they just finished their new 5 minute pizza and flatbread book. They plan to have it on the shelves in Oct 2011.
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

And there is info from the first book at
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

[razz]

I love how all the fermenting time gives more flavor to the bread.

The authors continue to post related recipes on their website and they just finished their new 5 minute pizza and flatbread book. They plan to have it on the shelves in Oct 2011.
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

And there is info from the first book at
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

Thanks for the info, Amaranth. I just checked their website and their panettone recipe looks wonderful. I must try it soon.

[fidgiegirl]

Going to have to give this one a try. Hoping to become more adept at baking, including bread, this year.

Thanks so much for putting this up again. I wanted to retrieve it out of the old forums before they died and had no luck. Yippee!

[Hattie]

I think the best thing I ever purchased was my bread machine. Here is a great and healthy recipe for bread that we really like. It makes a short, dense loaf and goes great with peanut butter.



Multi-Grain Bread



1 ½ cups warm water
3 tbsp. skim milk powder
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. molasses
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 cups white bread machine flour
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup rolled oats toasted*
3 tbsp. cornmeal
3 tbsp. wheat germ
1 tbsp. flax seed
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (no shells please)
2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine in order given above. Set on whole wheat/whole grain cycle; medium/normal colour setting.

*To toast the oats, spread a thin layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 10 – 15 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring often. If you want to toast enough oats for more than one loaf, just freeze the extra oats in premeasured amounts.

[iris lily]

I really want to be that woman, too. I keep saying that in the winter I'll try that bread recipe. Well, here it is winter. Maybe I'll try it when our latest rescue dog leaves. He consuming a little bit of time.

[fidgiegirl]

I just made it! It was awesome! It helped that I just got the Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day book from the library, because there were pictures in there.

I do not have a baking stone so just used a cookie sheet.

The only problem was that the middle game out kind of doughy. I read in the book that it was from underbaking. Since this happened the first time I tried a loaf of yeast bread (several months ago), it tells me that our oven is not at the right temp. I need to (as the book recommends) buy an oven thermometer.

In fact I have to buy quite a few things to keep this bread project going! That thermometer, more yeast, and maaaaaybe a baking stone. We'll see.

[kib]

Take a local ceramics class and you can make your own baking stone, and people cultivate their own yeast, too! I don't know how to make a good oven thermometer, though. Although .... oh never mind. :~)

Seriously, I think there is a variation of this recipe that uses a dutch oven instead of a baking stone that people also said worked just great, if you have one of those. Anyone?

[Rosemary]

To check to see if bread is done, you can thump on the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it's probably done. You can also check the temperature of the loaf of bread with an instant-read thermometer. It should be 200F. I generally tell from the way the bread looks, and I almost always give the bread more time than recipes say.

[kib]

It could also be the baking stone, though. It adds a whole 'nother dimension of heat and drying. But yeah, when I make this I give it at least 30 minutes.

[bae]

I use a Corningware casserole dish that I preheat in the oven, that I drop the loaf into. This substitutes for messing about with a baking stone or fooling with the pan of water - leaving the clear glass lid on the dish seems to create a mini-steam oven, and the crust comes out great.

[Crystal]

Mmmmf -- can't talk right now. My mouth is full of beautiful crusty bread, slathered with a little butter....

[Simpler at Fifty]

I have a batch going today. DH is making chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight.

[treehugger]

I use a Corningware casserole dish that I preheat in the oven, that I drop the loaf into. This substitutes for messing about with a baking stone or fooling with the pan of water - leaving the clear glass lid on the dish seems to create a mini-steam oven, and the crust comes out great.

I got the book out of the library over the weekend and really enjoyed reading through it. I broke their "rule" by making the olive oil dough (for pizza) first instead of the master recipe. But I really wanted pizza for dinner last night. :)

Anyway, I will definitely make the master recipe next and I think I will try bae's trick of using the casserole dish (which I already have) since I am not in the position to buy a baking stone any time soon. Thanks!

Question for bae: do you grease the caserole dish? The book says to grease a metal loaf pan (even a nonstick one) if using, so I was wondering about the Corning ware.

The book also strongly recommends against using bleached flour, and that's all I had. I wouldn't normally buy it, preferring unbleached, but the bleached was on a great sale and my budget dictated that I not pass it up. I think I just need to add a bit more flour next time, to correct the extra wetness (the authors say that bleaching removes some of the protein).

My pizza came out delicious, by the way, much better (and easier to work with) than the previous dough recipe I had been using. I am definitely looking forward to trying many more recipies in the book. I will renew it as many times as the library will let me.

[Anne Lee]

I've been using the King Arthur Flour recipe: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-bread I like that the recipe is in weight and not just volume.

[RCWRTR]

I just tried this recipe today. It is WONDERFUL! I love how I can taste the subtle kosher salt flavor in the bread and how beautiful the loaves looked when I took them out of the oven.

I delivered a loaf to my neighbor this evening and she just raved about how the bread looked and tasted. I will definitely make this again and again!

[flowerseverywhere]

I use a cast iron dutch oven because I have one. I put it in the oven with the lid as it heats up and it gets really hot so be careful. Then I let the dough roll off the cloth into the hot dutch oven and replace the lid. I have some corning casseroles so next time I will make another batch I'll do a double and try that too. As a matter of fact it is so early I'll do it today to have with our homemade soup.

I love the cast iron dutch oven for soups and stews, it keeps the heat so well that once it gets hot you need little further energy to keep the food cooking and you can brown everything in the pot, add whatever liquid and spices and put the whole thing on a low oven. You could put it on coals or in a fireplace too if you wanted to. However it is really heavy, especially when full. Not good for someone with arthritis or strength issues.

[bae]

Pandemic update: this recipe is proving a lifesaver for me these days!

[whisperingpines]

Bae,

Any way you could post the recipe. When I go to the link on the first page, I have to join in order to be able to read the recipe.

Thanks,

Lisa