So… I am happy to say that I’ve been getting to work on my list of goals for this coming business year. And, one of the things that I’m doing now is trying to make all our bread myself.
Don’t be too impresssed… I am not milling my own flour or anything super-earthy like that. I am just putting wonderful store-bought flour into my mixer, hitting “go” and watching it knead. Not very complicated.
For any of you who enjoy baking and want a REALLY, really easy bread recipe, here’s mine. I have been making this recipe constantly ever since my friend (and sweet neighbor!) Chrissie introduced it to me. The recipe comes from the book pictured below, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois. This recipe does not require lots of time in the kitchen, and it’s totally delicious!
So, here you go!
Here’s the introduction to the recipe:
“It is easy to have fresh bread whenever you want it with only five minutes a day of active effort. Just mix the dough and let it sit for two hours. No kneading needed! Then shape and bake a loaf, and refrigerate the rest to use over the next couple weeks. Yes weeks! The master recipe makes enough dough for many loaves. When you want fresh-baked crusty bread, take some dough [from the refrigerator], shape it into a loaf, let it rise 20 minutes, then bake! Your house will smell like a bakery, and your family and friends will love you for it!”
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for whole-wheat bread (there are also recipes for white, sourdough, rye, etc. in the book):
6 2/3 cups whole wheat flour (get King Arthur – the good stuff!)
1.5 tbsp granulated yeast
1.5 cups lukewarm milk
1.5 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
5 tbsp oil
1/2 cup honey
*note* for softer bread, you can substitute some bread flour for whole-wheat flour. I think a good combination is 4 cups whole wheat flour and 2 2/3 cups bread flour. I make 100% whole wheat for our daily sandwich bread and make the combination when I make dinner rolls.
The recipe is very simple: first you dump everything in a large (5-6qt) bowl except the flour. Then, add the flour little by little while mixing with either a spoon or dough hook. I used a spoon until yesterday and it worked great, just uses more muscle-power!
Here’s the best part: after you mix the dough, you don’t knead! You just leave the bread in the bowl to rise! (or transfer to another bowl if you need to use the mixer bowl for something else)
Let stand and rise until the dough almost doubles (since we usually keep our house at 60 degrees, this takes three hours at least!). Yes, it’s true. We live in antartica.
After this, you can either use the dough immediately or refrigerate to use later. The dough is sticky and is much easier to deal with after refrigeration! So, I recommend mixing the dough and letting it rise at least one day before baking. Then, stick it in the refrigerator and it’s ready to grab whenever you need it.
On baking day, shape the dough and use it however you want. I make loaves and rolls, but I prefer the rolls as they are softer and seem to stay fresh longer.
Lightly grease a pan and sprinkle with cornmeal (to prevent sticking) and form rolls with the dough.
Cover pan with a towel and let the bread stand again for 2 hours (white bread only stands for 20 minutes but wheat bread is heavier and needs to sit longer).
Finally, set the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes, or until tops are brown! When I bring the rolls out, I usually brush with a little butter and salt. Just adds to the yumminess!
*note* the farther apart you put the rolls on your pan, the better! As you see from my photo, they stick together after rising if they are sitting too close on the pan.
Let me know if you give the recipe a try! It has definitely become one of our favorites!!
Here it is all put together:
Ingredients:
6 2/3 cups whole wheat flour (get King Arthur – the good stuff!)
1.5 tbsp granulated yeast
1.5 cups lukewarm milk
1.5 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
5 tbsp oil
1/2 cup honey
*note* for softer bread, you can substitute some bread flour for whole-wheat flour. I think a good combination is 4 cups whole wheat flour and 2 2/3 cups bread flour. I make 100% whole wheat for our daily sandwich bread and make the combination when I make dinner rolls.
Instructions:
Mix yeast, salt, honey, oil, milk and water in a large bowl or container.
Mix in the flour using a spoon or dough hook attachment.
Cover bowl loosely and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or until dough doubles.
Use dough immediately or refrigerate to use later.
On baking day, lightly grease pan and sprinkle with cornmeal to prevent sticking. Form rolls from dough and sit a few inches apart on pan (they will rise and stick together if they are too close).
Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until tops are brown.
Brush with butter and sprinkle with a little sea salt (optional).
Enjoy!
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