Baking Day

One of my favorite breads to make is my no-knead artisan bread. There is a book called The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day that I bought my friend a couple years ago. I noticed on my bag of flour one day a recipe by that same name. I clipped it and saved it. It makes a crusty bread with a soft crumb interior. Good thing I mixed a batch up because we were out of bread and my husband asked if I could bake some.  Here is the recipe:

No-Knead Artisan Free-Form Loaf
3 cups lukewarm water
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (2 lbs.)
1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 t.)
Cornmeal of parchment paper for the pizza peel
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Mixing and storing the dough:
-In a 5 qt. container or bowl, mix yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then mix until uniformly moist. This will produce a loose dough.
-Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
(The dough can be shaped and baked the day it's mixed, or refrigerated in a lidded container (not airtight) or loosely covered bowl for up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.)

Baking Day:
-Prepare a pizza peel with cornmeal or parchment paper to prevent sticking when you slide the dough into the oven. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit size) piece of dough. Cover remaining dough and refrigerate for baking loaves within 14 days.
-Sprinkling with more flour to prevent sticking, shape a smooth ball with your hands by gently stretching the dough around to the bottom, rotating a quarter turn as you go. Shaping should take no more than 20-40 seconds.
-Place dough on pizza peel and let rest for 60 minutes. (Dough won't rise much at all.)

 

-30 minutes before baking, preheat a pizza stone in the oven set at 450 degrees and place a metal broiler pan underneath the pizza stone.
-When the dough has rested, dust it with flour and use a knife to cut slashes across the top or cut a cross.
-Slide the loaf off the peel and pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler pan.
-Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is browned. Allow to cool completely.

 

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Bread of the Month Club: April

Cinnamon Swirl

 

This bread is a favorite and I always know that my sister and her family love it! I like to use it to make French Toast- which is what I did this morning! It's also delicious plain or toasted. Can't go wrong! <3