  Don’t forget to comment below to enter the drawing for these wonderful and unique bread pans!! Quick and easy is good, right?! Well, I guess taste has to come in there somewhere! Reader and FB fan, Penny, shared a wonderful recipe that’s quick AND tastes good, located at the lovely blog The Italian Dish. It looked so interesting that I had to try it. Since there is a giveaway going on right now for bread pans that require a good, crusty recipe, I figured this was a great time to post one. Though this recipe works best on a baking stone, I can see it working equally as well in the bread pans for the drawing. I’m going to digress a bit first. You know me and my memories…well, I’m going back there again. And I’m going wayyyy back! I’m remembering my childhood when, I believe, I was in the fourth grade. I thought I was a big dog back then and because I was the oldest child, I guess I was! My family was in Quebec’s Gaspé, at Bonaventure Island, staying in a tiny cabin warmed with a potbelly wood stove. My mom had put a pot of beans on the stove, to cook, and we kids had ventured out to watch the sea smash against the rocks below the cliff on which we stood. Oh yes, and I had this hat. It was one of those tourist hats that looked like a sailor cap, but that had embroidered across the front, turned-up rim, “Bonaventure Island”. I thought I looked cool, but what does a fourth grader know? Earlier that day, while driving the countryside, we had been amazed to see women in front of their homes, taking hot bread out of large, brick ovens that had been built alongside the road. These French-speaking ladies offered their breads for sale and we had stopped at one such oven to purchase a large, hot and crusty loaf. I can still remember the smell enveloping us inside our trusty Rambler station wagon as we headed toward the cabin. The day was finally made even more special for me because my mother gave me money and let me walk, all by myself, down to the little town to purchase a pound chunk of butter to slather on the bread. I don’t think beans and French bread have ever tasted so good since. And so, it was as I was baking the round loaf that is the result of the recipe following, and then tasted the first slice with its chewy, crusty exterior and soft, yummy center that those memories came flooding back. It tasted just like that bread so many years ago! So I have found a new favorite bread that is as good with a turkey sandwich, bistro style, as it is with a huge plate of ravioli. And talk about easy. It just doesn’t get any easier than this! So give it a try! And by the way, I showed you how to make Sourdough Bread in a past post. This bread takes on the same qualities without all the work.
 Your water should be around 100º. In a large bowl (this one is 8 quarts and a 4 or 5 quart one would be easier to handle) or a large plastic container with a lid, add the salt to the water and sprinkle the yeast over the surface.  Add the flour. You don’t even have to proof the yeast. Of course, as I thought about this, you are in a world of hurt (and out some flour) if your yeast is no good, so I may go ahead and proof the yeast from now on.  Stir the dough with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly moistened. The original baker noted that she went ahead and used her Kitchenaid mixer to do this step. I will too, next time! Note: You do not knead the dough  If the dough is in a plastic tub, cover with the lid, but do not snap down all the way around to allow the gasses to escape. I put plastic wrap loosely around the top of my bowl. Allow to rise in a nice warm place for at least 2 hours.  The dough should be nice and bubbly and starting to smooth on the top. You can use the dough anytime after this step, but refrigerating the dough until it is cooled down makes it less sticky and easier to work with. I refrigerated mine overnight and even waited until the next afternoon to make the bread. And any dough not used remains refrigerated.  When you are ready to make the bread, pull some of the dough up and cut it off with a pair of scissors. Choose the amount you need for the type of loaf you will make. Here, I am making boules, but you can make a French loaf or baguettes too.  Shape the loaves by pulling the sides down and under to make the top as smooth as possible. It doesn’t matter what the underside looks like.  Place the loaves on parchment paper, either on a cookie sheet that has no sides or turn a cookie sheet upside down and place the parchment paper and the loaves on the bottom. The purpose of this is so you can slide the parchment paper and loaves onto a baking stone later. Allow the loaves to rise for 40 minutes. It said that there is no need to cover them with a damp cloth, but here in Oklahoma, we are so dry that I felt a damp cloth was a must. It worked great.  About 20 minutes into the rising, turn your oven on to 450º and place a baking stone on the middle rack to heat for 20 minutes. As you can tell, my baking stone is well-used!! The bottom rack will be used to hold a pan with a cup of water in it to steam the bread loaves. If you don’t have two racks, use a pan that can sit in the bottom of the oven without disturbing the heating elements.  When the bread has risen, sprinkle flour on the top surface of the risen loaves and score the tops to release some of the trapped gas so the loaves will hold their shape. You can do parallel slashes, cross-cuts or whatever you like to make the bread loaves look pretty. Now here is where I did it a little different from the instructions. I opened the oven door and placed the pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven and closed the door to let the oven heat back up to 450º. At that point, I opened the oven again and slid the parchment paper with the loaves of bread, gently onto the baking stone. Closing the door, quickly, the bread bakes for 30-35 minutes depending on the size of the loaf.  Remove the loaves and let them cool before slicing. They really are better after they have cooled, but I couldn’t wait and got a slice anyway. Oh yes. It’s good hot too!  After the loaves have cooled slice and serve. You can store your leftover dough up to 14 days and as it sits, the flavor will improve like sourdough. When you use up your dough, don’t clean out the container, but just mix right in with the leftover pieces to add to the flavor. I have decided to use one of my gallon crocks with a loose plastic lid over it to store my dough. It should get really tasty in there!  |
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Tags: artisan, baking stone, bread, Easy, flour, giveaway, recipe, simple, whole wheat
I know what I’m making this weekend. You’ve got my mouth watering. (is that a bell I hear?)
I remember walking to the store for french bread by myself at the age of 7 and in Los Angeles no less. Not sure why Mom sent me because both ends would always be gone by the time I got home. I think it was still warm too. Oh the good old days!
The ends!! Yes!! My favorite part. 🙂 You are right, those WERE the good ol’ days.
I think I will try this tomorrow morning. I have a really bad record of making bread other than in a machine. I saw your blog name on MJFG.
I am so glad you are helping to revive home bread making. Your breads look beautiful. A few extra tips that I do: use a plant watering container with a long spout to put the water into the pan. This helps you to stay a safe distance from the steam. I would advise waiting for the oven to come to full temp. before adding the water. The steam is needed for the first few minutes of the baking and it helps to create that beautiful crunchewy artisan crust. Also, if you check your oven’s temperature with a thermometer, up the temp from 450 if your oven runs cooler. Some ovens can be off by as much as 50 degrees and the 450 is very important to this particular wet dough. I bake mine for 40 minutes for a deep golden crust color and soft internal crumb. I glaze mine with milk, soy milk, or even buttermilk in the non-scored areas which helps to give the crust a multilayer coloring that is gorgeous. Also, dust with flax seed, toasted wheat germ etc. for added artistic effect. If you make an artisan rye, use cornstarch glaze then dust with caraway seeds and they stay put in decorative patterns. I have dulled so many baker’s lames that now I use double-edged razor blades that I buy online. great job the photos are fabulous!
Oh my, your memories bring back memories of my youth. We were travelling in France going back home to Germany at the end of a vacation trip during the summer I was 8. We got an early start and stopped in a small village and bought 4 loaves of french bread right out of the oven. My mom allowed my brother and I one loaf to snack on. He pulled off one end, I pulled off the other and we ate that. Then we decided to hollow out the loaf. He started pulling the insides out from his end (bread was about 2 feet long or longer) and I started on my end, eating the soft warm insides as we went. In a little over an hour, mom had 2 sick kids and one hollow loaf of french bread. She was not happy about either, but the crust really made some good eating when we got home, warmed it in the over, and put fresh butter and jelly on it. A crunchy sandwich. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Judy, thanks for checking us out!! And another MJFG! Yayyy! You are entered and I hope you’ll stop by again.
Kristina, you have such awesome ideas, if it is ok, I am just going to cut and paste your comment as a “note” at the bottom of the post. Everybody should hear what you have to say.
Judy, you really gave me a chuckle. What a sweet memory!! 🙂
Thank you for the mention in the post…sweet of you…I thought I would throw in what I do at the baking part too….I found this in my cookbook “The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook” In its recipe for rustic bread it said to spray the loaf with water before putting in the oven and every minute for the first 3 minutes and it says the reason to do this is “Giving the loaf a spritz of water before baking and again during the first three minutes of baking helps keep the exterior of the dough from setting too quickly, so you’ll end up with a taller loaf with a lighter, more airy crumb” So this is also what I do with this recipe instead of putting the water in a pan. It works great for me. I also use equal parts of bread flour, wheat flour and white flour. I just changed it up because my hubby love wheat bread and I like white better.
Oh, I meant to tell you I used my KitchenAid too….it was so easy and quick that way…
Great post. I have a well used stone also. I can’t wait to try this bread.
I keep saying I’m going to try this method for baking bread but never do. You have inspired me to give it a try! 🙂
The bread recipe sounds so good. Want to try it. My grandson loves the center; but will not eat the crust. Anxious to see if he will try this. I have really enjoyed reading all of the posts and have learned a lot of hints. The pans are really unique. I’ve used a Foley pastry sheet for years.
Thanks, Penny, for the additional information. I’ll add yours as a note too!! And thank you for the recipe. It’s awesome!!
Great Brenda. And thanks for commenting and entering the giveaway.
Candy, you must! 🙂
Mary, thanks for entering for the bread pan giveaway! And let us know what your grandson thinks.
Dough has been mixed and it is on the counter rising (I hope) as I type. My dough seems dryer than yours. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
What is “MJFG”? Or who.
Ooh – that looks tasty. (And the knife reminds me – have you ever done a blog on sharpening knives and other sharps?) Thanks for the cool giveaway chance – those are nice pans, very like the ones we used to use in my very first job as a baker. Jennifer in western NC
The dough did a nice job rising and is in the fridge!
Looks yummy! I spray my oven as I’m putting the sourdough loaves in with a squirt bottle.
Oh, neat, Brenda!!
Brenda, MJFG stands for Mary Jane Farm Girl. If you google it you will find her site and forum. All of these women talk back and forth about everything under the sun. Get over there and join up!!
Jennifer, no I haven’t, but now that you have mentioned it, I will do that!!
Yay, Brenda! Let us know what you think of it when you bake it tomorrow!
That sounds like a good idea, Cindy!!
I have yet to try to make this bread. I will have to give it a go.
Let us know how you like it, Alexandra
Made dough yesterday (soooo easy) put in frig overnight and cooked it this afternoon. Great bread, so crunchy outside and soft inside, lets the flavor of the butter (or other topping) shine through. This is just too easy, could make every day rather than buying store bread…. Thanks MB
URGENT! Don’t proceed toward home until you check your email for exceptional treasure to haul back with you. Inquiring minds want to know!
Get out the butter!!! Please enter me:)
I baked two small loaves of bread and mine was a bit dense. I thought it was more dry looking than yours when I mixed it. I couldn’t stir it so I cheated and kneaded it just a tad. My other problem was I had no parchment paper so I just baked it directly on my stone which, of course, wasn’t hot. I had soggy bottoms. I just cut the bottoms off and we ate the top part. It was very good but I think it would be terrific if I used a tad less flour and actually baked it the correct way. I still have some dough left, so I will get some parchment paper and do it right next weekend. Thanks for the great recipe, photos and instructions.
Great, Judy!! It is so cool to hear all of you trying it!
Sorry, STCJ!! Didn’t catch it until it was too late. sigh 🙁
Nancy, gotta have my butter. It’s all natural and comes from a cow!! 🙂
Brenda, add a little more water if it is too dry. And if you have a mixer with a dough hook, just mix it that way. And yes, the stone has to be heated for 20 minutes at 450 degrees and parchment paper is a must. Good luck with your next try!
Cool! I thought you’d know about sharpening stuff :). Thanks! We can all look forward to the lesson. Jennifer in western NC
Sure thing, Jennifer! And we’d love to hear about your pastries too! 🙂
This bread looks great! I have been looking for a good recipe that will keep me from wanting to buy the $5 loaf of artisan bread at the high-end grocery store. This may just be the one! I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks!
You will love it Nana!!!
Would love those bread pans… for the recipes look great.
Loved the recipe… Sooo good.
Great, Mel!!!
thanks for the entry, the bread looks awesome!
Would love to win these pans. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Jonette, you are entered so good luck!