Friday, January 20, 2012

Simple Rustic Bread Recipe

I am inside all day making bread waiting for the outsite temperature to rise a touch more...

Making bread is a really a “back to basic” kind of thing to do. My mother in law is having surgery and getting a new hip on Monday, so I will bring her a loaf of bread for when she comes out of the hospital.  

This is my recipe:

Day one: mix together one package of dry yeast, one cup of unbleached flour and one cup of water. Let the goopy mushy dough rest in a cool area for one day.

Day two: add half a cup of flour and a touch of water to make the dough absorb the flour.  Let it rest one more day.

Day three: place your goopy/mushy dough into a good size mixer with 4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of wheat germ, 1/3 cup corn flour, 3 tbsp good olive oil and enough water to make a firm dough (between one and two cups) Mix for about 4 minutes as fast as your mixer will take without breaking it, stop the mixer and leave your dough in it. Wait 10 minutes and add 2 tsp sea salt and mix 5 more minutes. On your table, your dough needs to be kneed for one minute or until you press your finger in your dough and the print bounce back right away. Oil a bowl and leave your dough cover with a plastic bag and wet towel until it doubles in size.
Place your dough on your table and work it into the shape you want or in the pan you want. Let it rise double again. Just so you know, freestyle shaping bread is the hard part, and to consistently get the perfect looking loaf it will most likely take you a few months to get better at it. By using a pan you avoid that learning process and get a nice loaf each time. You can also use YouTube to see how other people shape their dough.

Bake in a 425F oven middle rack for about 45 to 55 minutes depending on the shape you chose. Your bread is cooked when you remove it from the oven and if you tap the bottom of your loaf it sounds kinda empty or hollow.

Eat whenever you want.