Awesome Artisanal 5 minute Bread-refrigerator friendly, no-knead!

[Guest guest]

This recipe was in our local paper and I made it today. HUGE hit with

the kids. I love it because it's healthy and oh so easy. I've tried

making bread before without great success. This recipe is a keeper.

This recipe makes four 1 lb loaves, which can be kept in the fridge for

14 days! If you make it, I would love feedback on variations.

 

Bread Boule in 5 minutes a day

Recipe from Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois " Artisan Bread in Five

Minutes a Day " November 2007, 27.95

 

Start to finish: 20 minutes active to prepare the dough, 5 minutes

active on day of baking.

 

Makes four 1 lb loaves

 

3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees) *I didn't test the temp

1 1/2 Tbsps granulated yeast

1 1/2 Tbsps kosher or other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups all purpose white flour (no need to sift) *I used White

Whole Wheat

Cornmeal for the pizza peel or baking sheet.

 

In a 5-quart bowl, combine the yeast, water and salt. Add all the

flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are

uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once

the ingredients are wet. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.

 

Cover with a lid (not airtight), or plastic wrap with several holes

poked into it. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it

begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.

 

After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or tightly covered

and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with

after at least 3 hours refrigeration.

 

To bake, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it with cornmeal.

Alternatively, overturn a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal.

This will prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the

oven.

 

Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut

off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are

best). Recover the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for

baking at another time.

 

Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as

needed so it won't stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently

pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the dough as you

go.

 

While stretching, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom

of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will

flatten out during resting and baking. This shaping should take no more

than 1 minute.

 

Place the dough on the peel or overturned baking sheet. Allow the loaf

to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread

may not rise much during this time; this is normal.

 

Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of

the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, use another baking sheet.

Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza

stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.

 

When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with

flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-

tac-toe pattern into the top.

 

Slide the loaf off the peel or overturned baking sheet and onto the

baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the

broiler tray and close the oven door.

 

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and

firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a

wire cooling rack.