Artisan Bread at home

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Crisp & chewy outside.

Soft inside.

Slightly salty.

A bit of sourness in the dough.

One of the reasons I love:

Central Market.

Zingerman’s Mail Order.

La Madeline.

Prairie Thunder Baking Company.

It’s all about the bread. The handmade. Artisan. Bread.

Sitting on the pizza peel on my kitchen counter at this very moment:

I can make Artisan Bread at home. In my oven. No special flour. No special brick or wood burning oven. No special 3 day fermentation process.

This is my loaf from 2 days ago.

You can make it too.

And then you can thank me by sending me a loaf. Or two.

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes per day.  This is the source.

Or you can watch this video:

*CAUTION* Baking this bread may cause a severe bread baking addiction. Side effects include, but are not limited to, shopping for bigger pants.

Recipe:   Click here for printable recipe

Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (2 packets)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached unsifted, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
• cornmeal, for dusting

Instructions:

In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 3 to 5 hours. (I do 4)

Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as a week. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel (or flat cookie sheet covered with parchment) sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Rest longer if dough was refrigerated. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it, loosely covered.

Place broiler pan on bottom rack of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife in the scallop pattern or a “X”. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Slice & enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe