Answers and Artisan Bread

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As promised, I did make another loaf of the Artisan bread today. I hope that the following tutorial will be easy enough to understand. If I am unclear on any of the instructions, please ask me to clarify. It is a very easy procedure and well worth the effort.



This bread is like a sourdough bread and best eaten fresh. I have eaten up to two days later with fine results, but like anyone knows, bread is best when hot out of the oven.



Artisan Bread



Ingredients:



3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons of salt

6 1/2 cups all purpose flour



Steps:



1. In a large bowl, add yeast and salt to water and stir well

2. Mix in flour and stir in with large spoon....do NOT knead the dough

3. Cover and let rise for 2 hours

4. Cut off a grapefruit size of the dough. Stretch the dough and fold underneath.

5. Place the ball on a greased pizza pan. A stone pan is best but my pizza pan works well (mine has holes throughout the pan to allow air to rise from underneath).

6. Lightly flour the ball of dough.

7. Using a serated knife, slice partway through the dough...I usually slice it three times.

It should look like this.

8. Cover with a clean cloth and let rest for 40 minutes.

9. Fill an oven safe bowl halfway with water (I use an old bread pan). Place in the lowest rack in the oven and turn oven on to 450 degrees. The water adds moisture to the heat which is essential to properly bake this bread. The oven needs to be at a full 450 degrees before the dough is placed in the oven.

10. Place dough in oven and bake for 30 minutes

Viola! Fresh baked Artisan bread!

It sounds a little complicated but once you do it once, I am sure your family will ask for it all the time.

This recipe makes approximately 3 or 4 loaves of bread. You can bake one at a time and keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator (covered) for up to a week. Just follow steps 4 through 10 to make bread fresh daily!

I had two readers ask me questions in my last post so I will be happy to help.

Courtney - Yes, I have dehydrated foods before I received my dehydrator. You can use an oven or the sun. I do not recommend the sun as there is an increased chance of food spoilage that way. Here is a link to a great site that explains using an oven.

http://www.purecountryhiking.com/dehydrating/oven-drying.php

I hope that you find what you need there. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Katie - Here is an easy recipe for Whole Wheat Bread....although this recipe includes regular flour as well, it is worth trying. If I run across any others that are only whole wheat flour, I will let you know!

Ingredients:

3/4 cups warm water

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup of bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp rapid rise yeast

Bread machine - place all ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select whole wheat cycle and regular bake time, press start.

After 5 minutes, check how the dough is kneading, it may need either 1 tbsp of flour or 1 tbsp of water, depending on the consistency. Once the bread is done, allow it time to cool on a wire rack before cutting.

In the oven - prepare as usual. Allow it to rise twice. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Cover loaf with aluminum foil, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. Remove bread to wire rack to cool. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Have a great evening everyone and give your loved ones a hug! :)