Breads, Artisan

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Easy Focaccia

Extremely easy, fast and cheap. Great for sandwiches and snacks. You may use more or less olive oil or salt if you wish.
Author: Sara Uckelman

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 2 ½ t (1 package) active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup warm water (Warm a whole cup of water at about 1 minute and save 2/3 for later addition) 110° F

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  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

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  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt Coarse Kosher salt is the best

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  • In the same bowl, combine the flour with the yeast mixture; stir well. (Add additional herbs or cheese if desired).
  • Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. (I use quite a bit). When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
  • Lightly oil a large bowl (I use the same one I just mixed in), place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with Saran Wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 475°.
  • Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Pat or roll the dough into a flattened ball and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. (I often use an oiled 8 or 9” round cake -pan for a nice shape). Poke fingers into dough to make holes. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.
  • Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you’ll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Get 5 qt lidded but not airtight container. Make enough to last a week – 10 days.
Course: Bread
Author: Hertzberg and Francois

Ingredients

Basic portion:

  • 3 C Lukewarm Water
  • 1 ½ T granulated yeast
  • 1 ½ T coarse salt
  • 6 ½ C unsifted unbleached, all-purpose white flour measured with the scoop and sweep method.

Instructions

Dough Prep

  • Warm the water slightly 100° F
  • Add yeast and salt to the water in 5 qt container
  • Mix in the flour with wooden spoon, or with hands at the end. No kneading. Uniformly moist with no dry patches.
  • Allow to rise, lightly covered for about 2 hours – until it deflates slightly. 5 hours is OK. Dough is ready to use now. Easier to handle if you refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.

Baking Day

  • Sprinkle corn meal on peel. Sprinkle flour on dough to aid in cutting. Cut off 1 lb lump (size of a grapefruit) of dough. Hold the mass in hands, add a little flour to handle and “cloak” the dough, by pulling surface around to the bottom on all surfaces. (30- 60 seconds).
  • Rest and Rise. Place on prepared peel. Rest uncovered 40 minutes. At 20 minutes prepare oven.
  • Preheat oven to 450° with baking stone on middle shelf. Place water pan (old cast iron skillet works well) in oven.
  • Dust loaf top liberally with flour and slice 1/4” slices onto top using sharp knife.
  • Heat 1 cup hot water. Slide dough off peel to oven stone. Pour water into old skillet, Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
  • Store remaining dough in refrigerator for up to 14 days. No need to “clean” container before next batch.

Notes

May 26. 2008

Pita Bread

Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Bread

Ingredients

In Measuring Cup

  • 1 pkg yeast or quick rise yeast
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 1 tsp sugar

In Large Bowl

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • tsp salt

Later Addition

  • 1 cup lukewarm water

Instructions

  • Dissolve yeast in ½ cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10–15 minutes until water is frothy.
  • Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
  • Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.
  • Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
  • Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10–15 minutes.
  • When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.
  • Coast large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.
  • Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
  • Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10–12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500° F and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Preheat the baking sheet also.
  • Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5–6" across and ¼" thick.
  • Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes. (Do 4 at a time)
  • Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheets and add additional pitas for baking.
  • Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Storing Pita Bread

  • Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in the pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.

Baguettes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For a homemade baguette that rivals the best from Parisian boulangeries, we took a trip to France to learn firsthand what it takes. The problem with most published recipes, we discovered, is that all the small details that matter are glossed over. For an authentic wheaty flavor, we add a bit of whole-wheat flour (sifted to remove some of the larger pieces of bran that would otherwise add bitterness and make the loaf dense) to the white flour. Mixing the dough in a machine and then using a series of gentle folds to develop the dough creates the perfect tender, irregular internal crumb. Next we employ a long, slow rise in the refrigerator, which delivers the complex flavor of fermentation while making the recipe flexible, since we can bake the loaves anytime within a three-day window. To shape the loaves perfectly without overworking the dough, we employ a multistep approach that gradually transforms them into baguettes. Finally, we ensure a crispy, crackly crust by moistening the couche, the pleated linen cloth that holds the loaves as they proof, and by starting the loaves beneath a pair of upturned disposable roasting pans to trap steam as it evaporates from the exterior of the dough.
Author: America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (1 1/3 ounce) whole-wheat flour
  • 3 cups (15 ounce) King Arthur all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
  • 1 teaspoon diastatic malt powder optional
  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounce) water
  • 2 (16 by 12-in) disposable aluminum roasting pans

Instructions

  • Sift whole-wheat flour through fine-mesh strainer into bowl of stand mixer; discard bran remaining in strainer. Add all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, and malt powder, if using, to mixer bowl. Fit stand mixer with dough hook, add water, and knead on low speed until cohesive dough forms and no dry flour remains, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Holding edge of dough with your fingertips, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward center. Turn bowl 45 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes.
  • Repeat folding and rising every 30 minutes, 3 more times. After fourth set of folds, cover bowl tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 72 hours.
  • Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, pat into 8-inch square (do not deflate), and divide in half. Return 1 piece of dough to container, wrap tightly with plastic, and refrigerate (dough can be shaped and baked anytime within 72-hour window). Divide remaining dough in half crosswise, transfer to lightly floured rimmed baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic. Let rest for 45 minutes.
  • On lightly floured counter, roll each piece of dough into loose 3- to 4-inch-long cylinder; return to floured baking sheet and cover with plastic. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Lightly mist underside of couche with water, drape over inverted baking sheet, and dust with flour. Gently press 1 piece of dough into 6 by 4-inch rectangle on lightly floured counter, with long edge facing you. Fold upper quarter of dough toward center and press gently to seal. Rotate dough 180 degrees and repeat folding step to form 8 by 2-inch rectangle
  • Fold dough in half toward you, using thumb of your other hand to create crease along center of dough, sealing with heel of your hand as you work your way along the loaf. Without pressing down on loaf, use heel of your hand to reinforce seal (do not seal ends of loaf).
  • Cup your hand over center of dough and roll dough back and forth gently to tighten (it should form dog-bone shape).
  • Starting at center of dough and working toward ends, gently and evenly roll and stretch dough until it measures 15 inches long by 1 1/4 inches wide. Moving your hands in opposite directions, use back and forth motion to roll ends of loaf under your palms to form sharp points.
  • Transfer dough to floured couche, seam side up. On either side of loaf, pinch edges of couche into pleat, then cover loosely with large plastic garbage bag.
  • 1Repeat steps 4 through 9 with second piece of dough and place on opposite side of pleat. Fold edges of couche over loaves to cover completely, then carefully place sheet inside bag, and tie or fold under to enclose.
  • Let stand until loaves have nearly doubled in size and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your fingertip, 45 to 60 minutes. While bread rises, adjust oven rack to middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Line pizza peel with 16 by 12-inch piece of parchment paper with long edge perpendicular to handle. Unfold couche, pulling from ends to remove pleats. Gently pushing with side of flipping board, roll 1 loaf over, away from other loaf, so it is seam side down. Using your hand, hold long edge of flipping board between loaf and couche at 45-degree angle, then lift couche with your other hand and flip loaf seam side up onto board.
  • Invert loaf onto parchment-lined peel, seam side down, about 2 inches from long edge of parchment, then use flipping board to straighten loaf. Repeat with remaining loaf, leaving at least 3 inches between loaves.
  • Holding lame concave side up at 30-degree angle to loaf, make series of three 4-inch long, 1/2-inch-deep slashes along length of loaf, using swift, fluid motion, overlapping each slash slightly. Repeat with second loaf.
  • Transfer loaves, on parchment, to baking stone, cover with stacked inverted disposable pans, and bake for 5 minutes. Carefully remove pans and bake until loaves are evenly browned, 12 to 15 minutes longer, rotating parchment halfway through baking. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Consume within 4 hours.

Notes

MAKING PARISIAN QUALITY BAGUETTES
Gentle shaping is key for authentic texture.
 
For the best flavor, here’s what we do:
  • Add some whole-wheat flour to mimic the wheatiness of French flours
  • Use a long, cold fermentation to develop complex flavor
  • Steam the loaves under aluminum pans to create a dark and flavorful crispy crust

Brotchen

Hallo, try this: 
500 g unbleached bread flour
325 g water
10 g salt
1 tsp instant yeast
5 g sugar or diastatic malt
10 g butter 
let it ferment at room temperature (about 2 hours with one fold). Divide it into 10 – 12 pieces, shape round or like little batards. Proof for 30 minutes, score and bake  with steam for 20 minutes at 450° F. The use of egg whites and an egg wash is not really “german”. 
Beate 
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“Kipfen – Wecken – Semmel – Weggli – Schrippe – Feierabend Brötchen – Rundstück”. These are all words for the very normal, white, small, round roll that you see in the breakfast bread baskets in Germany or Austria. A lean dough and steam in the oven help create the special taste of the crisp roll, an overnight sponge gives you a deeper dimension. If you are having a brunch, these rolls can easily be ready by 10 or 11 am. If you are an early riser, they can be coming out of the oven at 8 am. Of course, you can always freeze them and re-crisp in the oven. Makes 40 small rolls.
Course: Bread

Ingredients

***Day 1***

  • 2 c 250 grambread flour (I used King Arthur unbleached)
  • 1 1/3 c cold tap water 300 ml
  • 1/2 tsp instant yeast 2.5 grams

***Day 2***

  • 5 1/2 c flour 725 grams
  • 1 1/3 c water (300 ml) plus extra if needed
  • 1 tsp (5 grams) instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp 12 grams) salt (Morton’s iodized)

Instructions

  • The night before you want rolls mix the flour, water and yeast in a bowl until smooth and lump-free. Cover with plastic wrap or plate (not airtighand let this mix sit on the counter overnight.
  • The next day (8-24 hours later), mix the sponge (what you mixed on Day 1) with 5 cups of flour, the extra water and the yeast. Knead for 8 minutes, preferably with a stand mixer. Add up to another half cup of flour until dough clears the bowl (doesn’t stick to sides much-just a little).
  • Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix for 4 more minutes (You may decrease the salt to 1 teaspoon, if you wish).
  • The consistency of the dough should be smooth but tacky, adjust with water, a teaspoon at a time, or flour, a tablespoon at a time.
  • Form dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl or dough doubler, turning once to coat. Place a damp towel or plastic wrap over the top.
  • Let the dough ferment for 2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in size.
  • Turn dough out on lightly floured work surface and form into a log. cut 2 ounce pieces (50 gramwith a bench knife or spatula. This will make about 40 small rolls. If you want them a more normal size (for today’s portions), cut 2 1/2 to 3 ounce pieces (70-84 grams).
  • If you have a scale handy, weigh a few to be sure.
  • Let the pieces rest for a few minutes, then form into balls or any other shape you like. Coat in flour and place on parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
  • Cover with a damp cloth and let them rise for a further hour.
  • Preheat oven, preferably with an oven stone, to 450°F for 1 hour. Place an old pan on the bottom rack.
  • Slash rolls with a serrated knife or lamé or razor blade.
  • Place rolls in the oven on the next shelf up, directly on top of the stone if available or on a baking sheet if not. Pour 1 cup of water into the old baking pan and close the door quickly. Spray sides of oven with water 2 or 3 times in the first 5 minutes using a regular spray bottle. Bake for 15 – 20 more minutes, turning the baking sheet if necessary for even browning.
  • Cool rolls on wire racks so that the bottoms don’t get soggy.
  • Rolls are supposed to be eaten warm and crispy. You may freeze and recrisp in a hot oven if you are not eating them the same day they are baked. To transport to a brunch or potluck, wrap them in a towel or fabric napkin in a basket.

Herb and Cheese Bubble Loaf

Course: Bread
Author: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 – 3 cups flour
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1 c milk
  • 1 T butter
  • 1 cup shredded cheese they say cheddar or Swiss; any hard-ish, melty cheese should work
  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 2 T snipped parsley
  • 1/2 t dried oregano
  • 1/2 t dried marjoram

Instructions

  • Combine 1 c. flour and yeast; set aside. Heat milk, 1 T butter, and 1/2 t salt in a small saucepan until 120-130 degrees and the butter just begins to melt. Add milk to flour. Mix briskly until no lumps remain. (The book says to use an electric mixer; I did it by hand both times and it worked fine.) Add the cheese and stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (I’ve been able to add two c. both times. Also, if you forget and add the flour first, it is still possible to mix the cheese in!)
  • Knead until moderately stiff and smooth. Shape into ball, place in greased bowl, turn once. Let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in size. (And this is why I always combine laundry and bread-baking — nothing like a laundry closet pumping out hot humid air to speed up rising!)
  • Punch dough down, turn out onto floured surface, cover and let sit 10 minutes. Grease a 1/12 quarter casserole or 9x5x3 in. loaf pan. Stir the herbs into the melted butter. Roll dough out to an 8×6 in rectangle, cut into pieces (the recipe says 48; I’ve done ~25, but will probably do more next time. The pieces could be around 1″ square and it would work). Form each piece into a ball, dip in the melted butter/herb mix, and place, smooth side up, in the pan. If there’s any butter left over, drizzle over the top. Cover and let rise until doubled.
  • Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped. If it browns too much, cover it with tinfoil for the last 10-15 minutes; we haven’t had a problem with this. It will double in size again while baking, and the result is light, fluffy, and flavorful.

Dutch Oven “Artisan Sourdough” Bread

The following recipe is adapted from p. 594, “Almost No-Knead Bread,” Cook’s Illustrated Cook Book, sans author’s notes, with variations for “as-I-make-it,” and with huge credit to a Mr. Joe McBue, who made me look like a pro right out of the box.
Course: Bread
Author: Cindy F

Ingredients

  • 3 c 15 ounce all-purpose flour (or 1::2 whole wheat pastry flour, All Purpose flour.
  • 2 honey if using 1c whole wheat pastry flour plus 2c all-purpose flour.)
  • 2 Tbsp raw wheat germ optional
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp instant yeast
  • ¾ c plus 2 tbsp 7 ounce water from drinking water tap; either cool or tepid is fine. (Add and stir until dissolved)
  • High flash point cooking oil, such as corn oil, to coat parchment paper and boule.

Instructions

10-20 hours in advance of baking, 11-22 hours before serving, 5 minutes:

  • Mix dry ingredients together in 2.5 qt glass bowl.
  • Measure out beer separately from water/vinegar/[honey] mixture and pour all liquids at once over dry ingredients.
  • Fold together until a shaggy ball forms.
  • Cover with glass skillet lid for 8-18 hours at room temperature.

4-5 hours before serving, 5 minutes:

  • Cover peel (or inside of Dutch oven lid, if planning to start baking on a cool square of parchment and spray with high flash point cooking oil.
  • Knead dough 10-15 times on a floured counter. Cloak dough into a boule and place seam side down on the parchment paper.
  • Spray boule with cooking oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
  • Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.
  • At least 30 minutes before baking (45-60 minutes to thoroughly preheat a baking stone, if using, and the cast iron poadjust oven rack to lowest position, place Dutch oven with lid (unless proofing directly on cool lion rack and heat oven to 500 degrees F.

Bake, 40-50 minutes; cool before serving, 1-2 hours, allow 2-3 hours:

  • When loaf is doubled in size, remove plastic wrap (duand make a ½ inch deep slash or “x” along top of dough.
  • Slide parchment with dough onto hot Dutch oven lid (or place lid with dough already on it onto oven rack, if starting with cool lid), and cover with inverted, preheated Dutch oven pot.
  • Bake for 10-20 minutes at 500 degrees (Covered longer means thicker, chewier crust.)
  • Remove inverted pot-lid from baking boule, reduce temperature to 425° F, and continue baking until crust is a deep golden brown and loaf interior registers 210° F, for a total of 40-50 minutes–which is 20-30 minutes longer, depending on how long you baked the loaf covered.
  • Cool loaf on wire rack about two hours before slicing and serving.
  • Loaf keeps at room temperature at least five days. Reheating in toaster oven after first day restores fresh flavor. Best eaten on day it is baked.

Notes

Grace notes:
(1)        Pot-lid is H.O.T. and full of steam when you take it off the boule.  Do not wear glasses or inhale deeply while removing the pot-lid unless you don’t mind warping your best lens or searing your windpipe.  If you are blind without them, get safety goggles.  Tip the pot-lid away from you when lifting it off the baking boule. (2)        Have a place to put the heavy pot-lid when you take it out of the oven.  I’ve already destroyed one ceramic/wood composite trivet setting this pot on it… In the absence of a cast iron trivet, I set it on my stove top to cool. (3)        Oven mitts that cover your wrists are a good idea–very thick, long oven mitts.  I doubt there is a mitt made that will not scorch from lifting a 500 degree F cast iron pot. I have made this recipe four times, now, each time varying how I measured the flour (by scoop method, spoon method or weight), or the time the loaf was covered or the preheating time and even the oven temperature.  Each loaf was great on its own, in its own way.  Soon I will find the crust and flavor that suits my taste best.  It just goes to show, you can hardly go wrong with this recipe. ~~ Cindy F.

Sourdough Focaccia

Prep Time1 day
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 day 25 minutes
Course: Bread

Ingredients

  • ¼-½ cup active starter
  • tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 3 Tbs olive oil extra virgin
  • flaky sea salt

Instructions

  • Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated.
  • If time permits, perform one “fold”: 30 minutes after you mix the dough, reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times.
  • Drizzle with a splash of olive oil and rub to coat. Cover bowl with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen — in summer, for instance, my sourdoughs double in 6 hours; in winter, they double in 18 hours. Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. It is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.).
  • When dough has doubled, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan. If you are using a glass pan, you may, as a precaution, want to butter it it first.
  • Drizzle dough with a tablespoon of olive oil. Use your hand to gently deflate the dough and release it from the sides of the bowl. Gently scoop the dough into the center of the pool of oil in your prepared pan. Fold dough envelope style from top to bottom and side to side to create a rough rectangle. Turn dough over so seam-side is down. 
  • Rub top of dough with oil. Leave alone for 4 to 6 hours, uncovered, or until puffy and nearly doubled.
  • Heat oven to 425º F. Rub hands lightly with oil, and using all ten fingers, press gently into the dough to dimple and stretch the dough to nearly fit the pan. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove pan from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

No-Knead Bread

Author: Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour more for dusting
  • ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
  • teaspoons salt
  • Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

Instructions

  • In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
  • Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. 
  • Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
  • At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Notes

November 8, 2006

PANERA 3 Cheese Bread

Servings: 2 loaves

Ingredients

Starter

  • 1 cup warm water 95-105 F
  • 2 teaspoons fresh yeast
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

Dough

  • 3/4 cup warm water 95-105 F
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 4 teaspoons fresh yeast
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening plus
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening 2 ounces
  • 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 cup romano cheese 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup asiago cheese 1/2-inch cubes

Instructions

  • To create the starter, combine the water and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the flour to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • For the dough, combine the water, honey and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the shortening, flour, salt, cheeses and fermented starter. Mix on low speed until the dough is fully developed. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl.
  • Divide the dough into 2 pieces weighing about 22 ounces each. Set aside any remaining dough and freeze for future use. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough on the counter or in a proofing basket and cover with a warm, damp cloth to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Form the dough into loaves, cover with a warm, damp cloth and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crusts are a deep golden brown and the middle of the loaves is 190-200°F.
  • Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. If the bread was baked in loaf pans, remove the bread from the pans before cooling.

Faster No Knead Bread

Anyone can make this bread. It’s foolproof. No kneading… no overnight wait… no proofing the yeast. You’ll need a 4 or 5-quart Dutch oven with an oven-safe handle. I recommend an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is ready and a pair of oven gloves are advisable. Aerate your flour before measuring! (For the original overnight method, simply switch to COOL water and let the dough rest overnight on the counter top for 8 to 24 hours)
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time4 hours 25 minutes
Course: Bread

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour 360 gms
  • 1/4 teaspoon yeast active dry or instant
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water not boiling (355 gm- I use hot tap water – about 125-130° F

Instructions

  • Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water until it’s well combined.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 3 hours.
  • After 3 hours dough will become puffy and dotted with bubbles. Transfer it to a well-floured surface and sprinkle dough with a little flour. Using a scraper fold dough over 10-12 times & shape into a rough ball.
  • Place in a parchment paper-lined bowl and cover with a towel. Let stand on counter top for about 35 minutes.
  • Meantime place Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450° My oven takes 35 minutes to reach 450°.
  • When oven reaches 450° carefully, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper and dough from the bowl and place gently into the hot pot. (parchment paper goes in the pot toCover and bake for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, remove lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake 10 – 15 more minutes.