Bread is something we go through a decent amount of each week. If you read my recent post "Weekly Cleaning Schedule", you may recall I had Tuesday as bread making day. Two loaves a week, and often it disappeared before the week was over. Well, we still go through that much. At least.
My husband jokes that it's a good thing the Bible says "Man shall not live on bread alone", otherwise he'd do it. It's a staple! Pair it with a hunk of cheese and a glass of milk and he is one happy camper. I mean, growing up his family made four loaves a day, but if they happened to taste it while it was still warm, it was gone so fast they had to make another batch that afternoon.
When we go on a mini road trip, we like to have some sort of treat along. Often I'll make a snack, or something a bit more hearty if I know we'll be missing meal time while on the road. Last time though, we decided to stop by the Farmer's Market in my old home town and pick up a hunk of cheese from the yummy can't-say-enough-good-about-it cheese shop I used to work at. We decided on a favorite of both of ours, a dutch baby swiss from Europe, called Leerdammer. Seeing as it was lunch time and the market also happened to have an open-air artisan bread shop, we picked up a nice rustic brown loaf to complete a meal. That stuff was so good we decided I needed to step my bread baking up a notch. I had been wanting to attempt a nice hearty loaf for quite some time now (and have tried in years past but failed miserably), but of the dozens of recipes I've looked into, they've all seemed so time consuming and involved. Or at least, it was a big recipe for someone who doesn't like reading directions. But I knew it was time to try my hand at it for real. So I searched for recipes once again and this time came up with a couple that looked like the perfect place to start.
Multiple batches later....
I have made more loaves of bread in two weeks' time than I thought I would when I started, but am sure I haven't spent a minute more than I would've on my regular sandwich bread recipe! You see, the other stuff I made required multiple risings, kneading time, and a few extra ingredients. Compared to what I've been making recently? Flour, water, salt, yeast... no knead, one rise, bake.
Okay, I have two recipes that I've been alternating between since beginning this experiment. They're both very similar except one is a quick loaf (which I generally only make when I realize there isn't enough for Aaron's lunch for the next day.), and the other I mix up in the evening and let it sit overnight (12-18 hours). We really like the slight sourdough flavor and chewy texture of the soaked recipe. Plus it's super forgiving. I can bake it when I get up in the morning, or run errands and wait until mid-day and it doesn't affect it any! It literally takes 5 minutes of my time, including clean up. I don't have to worry about over-risen bread or watching the clock for the next step. I am loving the flexibility it gives me!
Oh, and me being the one who can't make something without (either accidentally or on purpose) altering at least one step, all the recipes I found had you bake in a covered cast-iron dutch oven, something I don't have, but I've been using my cast-iron skillet and it seems to work just fine. I steam the bread while it's baking so I get a nice chewy crust. It's so good, you guys. And so easy.
I'm not afraid of rustic bread baking any more.
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