Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Easiest Bread I've Ever Made

For quite some time I have aspired to bake bread on a regular basis. I like my morning toast and in general my family LOVES bread. A quick peak at the ingredients on a loaf of store bought bread is enough scare you! Usually about 20 ingredients including high fructose corn syrup and stuff I've never heard of....datem, soy lecithin, azodicarbonamide. What the ......? (spell check doesn't even recognize them).
Any how I have found the SIMPLEST recipe ever and I plan to make it over, and over, again!
Here is the link I followed, definitely check it out if you plan to make because I will only write up a brief overview here.


About 20-24 hours before you want your bread mix together 3 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, and 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 5/8 cup of water. Cover bowl with saran wrap. Let dough rest for 12-18 hours at room temperature.


The picture above is what the dough looks like after it has rested... bubbly.

Next I sprinkled my cutting board w/ flour and dumped the dough out folding it in on itself a couple times. Once again cover w/ saran wrap and let sit for 15 minutes.



Then I took a cotton towel and sprinkled it with cornmeal, formed the dough into a ball and covered it with another towel dusted with cornmeal. Then I let it rise for 2 hours.


1/2 hour before rising time is complete set oven and 450 degrees and place the pan in for 30 minutes. I used a cast iron dutch oven greased with a dash of olive oil.




I baked the bread for 30 minutes covered and a couple minutes uncovered even though the recipe called for much longer. It was a hit at our family gathering last night and it sure did make for some good toast this morning.

Can you guess what I'm making again tonight?


13 comments:

Lauren said...

my first attempt at bread was a sourdough years ago and it didnt come out right. I can't wait to try this! thanks so much for posting, i am excited to try your recipe! I even have a cast iron dutch oven that i plan to use. thanks again for posting.

Country Girl said...

Your welcome Lauren. I have had lots of flops over the last couple years. Really excited to find a recipe that I can handle. You will be pleased with the results. ~Kim

Prairie Mother said...

Thanks for posting too. I try to make a bunch of bread once a week which zaps my day. This sounds much easier. Definitely trying this out.

BTW, I linked your blog on my post today with your laundry detergent recipe. Thanks.

warren said...

It's dang pretty too!

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

Is it fairly crusty on the outside? Looks great. Problem is, Mike and I can't control ourselves around fresh, baked bread. I made some Brioche the other night and we polished it off within hours.

I wanted to tell you how much I'm using the purple scrubber that you sent me. I won one of your giveaway's, while everything was great, I use that scrubber on a daily basis.

Amy said...

This recipe is almost identical to the recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day. If you like the bread I highly recomend the book. It makes it even more simple than that. You can make a batch of dough and store in the refridgerator for up to two weeks. When you want some you just pull off a chunk of dough and bake.

jean said...

Your bread looks so yummy. Wish I didn't have celiac disease. But, you've given me an idea to try with my own gluten free flour mix. Can't wait to try it this week.

Country Girl said...

PM, your welcome. Always fun to share things that you discover makes life a little easier. Joanna, actually the crust is quite soft, more so then I expected. I bought that scrubbie at a local market. Hmmmm....maybe I should try and learn to make them.
Amy, I SO want that book. Might be putting it on my Christmas wish list. I have heard all good about it.
PC, celiac disease does put a cramp on things. My neighbor has it and plus she is vegetarian. Glad I do not have to cook for her.

Hickchick said...

Yum --I have made some really UGLY bread in the past 10 months! I think I finally have it down now. My DH husband used to say bread like mine was what soldiers from the middle-ages took into battle-becaause you could use as a weapon or eat it!
I am impressed that you are thinking ahead by 24 hours-impressive!
Kris

Little Messy Missy said...

That sounds like a great recipe! I make all my own bread also..Mondays!! I will give that recipe a try, thanks for sharing.

Robin Woodsong said...

We've been making this bread for a year or so and haven't had a bad loaf yet. One thing we do is use a glass cover on the bowl so not to use plastic wrap.

Mare said...

Oh that looks delicious!

Heather said...

We love this bread too and have been enjoying it regularly. So easy to make and so delicious to eat. ;-)