How I Make Bread

There’s something indescribably homey about good bread. There’s a kind of spiritual wealth in being able to carry out a few rituals of daily life that are both deeply meaningful and completely impractical. So, I make bread on an almost daily basis – because it tastes great, it makes me happy, and most importantly I have an EASY way to do it, which I learned from this book:


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Jeff and Zoe developed a quickly-mixed, wet dough that can rise in the refrigerator, then gets baked on a hot pizza stone with a pan of steaming hot water. The result is a gorgeous, crusty, delicious bread with a custard-like center. There’s no kneading or watching the clock as dough is rising (although some people enjoy that sort of thing) and you still get to feel the dough in your hands, smell the yeast, and eat the end product!

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There’s nothing quite like a slice hot out of the oven with butter melting on top. (Um, no low carb diets around here.)

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Helen Svoboda-Barber (rector at St. Luke’s, Durham, NC) first introduced me to this method when she brought dough from her home stash on a clergy retreat and baked it for us.

I got myself a copy of the cookbook and leafed through it.

Then it sat on my bookshelf. For a long time.

On sabbatical, I decided bread-making would be one of my projects in the hermitage. When we got back to normal life in December, I got into a rhythm of mixing dough and baking… almost every day.

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Over the past few months, I’ve made a few tweaks to the recipe and scaled it down. The cookbook recipe is for four loaves but I find that making two at a time is easier. Also, a larger dough bucket takes up a lot of space in the fridge.

If you want to really get into all this, I recommend the cookbook – plus, it’s got variations for baguettes, pizza crust, pumpernickel, etc. It also has gluten-free recipes. The authors also explain the science of the method, which is really interesting.

Making bread is very comforting. I’m sharing my version to show you how easy it is, if you’ve ever thought about about doing it but have been discouraged by the complexities or the time commitment.

You do need a few special items. Admittedly, this sort of ruins the “easy” part.

1. A plastic bucket or bowl with a loose fitting lid (not airtight). My friend Monica gifted me with a 4-quart orange number from Goodwill. Others can be purchased from IKEA or from Amazon. 6-quarts is too big and 2-quarts is too small

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2. A pizza stone. Ours was a wedding present. Any kind will do.

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3. A pizza peel. We used to have a big wooden one, but it broke about a month into my bread making adventures. Below, I found a smaller-sized peel made of a tough wood composite from Williams-Sonoma for $25.

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4. A broiler pan. You probably already have one – a black thing with a grill grate on top for cooking things under the broiler? Take off the grate and set the pan on the bottom of your oven. Any flat metal pan would probably do – you could try a cookie sheet. (Sorry mine is so gross-looking.)

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MAKING THE DOUGH: You’ll need the lidded bowl or bucket, measuring cups and spoons, and a mixing spoon (I like one with a shorter handle because it’s a little easier to maneuver).

Measure into the bottom of your bowl: 2 tsp. yeast (1 packet) and 2 tsp. kosher salt (if you are using table salt, measure 1.5 tsp.). Pour 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water on top.

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Add 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour. It’s important to get this measurement exactly right. Do not use a 2-cup measure – trust your 1 cup and your 1/4 cup only. Scoop up a full cup of flour and level off with a knife. Mix until there is no dry flour visible (this shouldn’t take more than a minute or so).

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Set out on a counter and walk away for 2-4 hours (or longer), then bake (see below) or refrigerate. You can also put the dough directly in the fridge to rise – it will need to rise 6 hours or overnight before you bake. It rises more prettily and has a nicer texture at room temperature, but honestly, it tastes good either way. It will keep for two weeks.

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BAKING: You’ll need the pizza stone, pizza peel, and a serrated bread knife. A timer is helpful.

Sprinkle 1 Tbs. cornmeal on the pizza peel and swirl around a bit with your hand. Take dough bucket out of the fridge and half the dough, right in the bucket, with the bread knife. It should be about the size of a grapefruit. Hold the dough in both hands as you fold or gather it into a smooth ball, with the loose ends tucked under into the bottom. Pummel and press a bit to get any large air bubbles deflated and make a loaf that is more flat than round. (This should take about 30 seconds, tops.)

Lay the dough on top of the cornmeal on the pizza peel.

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Set your timer for 20 minutes.

The bread will have risen, but don’t worry if you can’t tell. Sprinkle a little flour on top if it seems sticky, then slash the top of the loaf with a bread knife, making deep cuts. This will help the dough settle nicely as it rises in the oven. You can slash a cross, straight lines, or whatever shape you fancy.

Then, put the pizza stone in the oven with the broiler pan underneath and set the temperature to 450. The oven will preheat and the stone will get nice and hot while the bread rises a little more. Turn on your stove vent, if you have one – it’s better for your lungs.

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Set your timer for another 20 minutes.

When the timer goes off, wiggle the dough from the peel onto the cornmeal patch on your hot pizza stone, right in the oven. Then pour 1 cup lukewarm water into the broiler pan and shut the door as it hisses and steams.

Set the timer for 30 minutes.

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When the timer goes off, take the beautiful golden bread out with the pizza peel or oven mitts. It will be ready to slice in a minute or two. Slather with salted butter, peanut butter, or Nutella, or lay slices of your favorite cheese on top.

Swoon!

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Your bread will keep for two days, but it’s best the first day. The loaves are small and you’ll eat them quickly. Trust me.

When you bake a loaf using the second half of the dough in the bucket, the instructions are the same except, of course, you don’t need to cut the dough in half this time.

When your dough bucket is empty, make your next batch of dough. You don’t have to wash it! All that beneficial bacteria and yeast will take good care of you and give your bread a wonderful, full flavor after a couple rounds allow them to really settle in. (Think of it as your own personal sourdough flavoring.)

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Mixing and eating homemade bread is a lot of fun for me and Adam. There’s something very essentially “home” about it all. There’s a rhythm it’s added to my life.

Comments

  1. Ellen Joyce says:

    This one worked for me tonight and was even LESS work! Having the right Pyrex bowls turned out to matter, though, and immediately after I’d ordered them for $5.99 each from Amazon, I ran into some for two dollars or less at a thrift store (of course). I may go back and get those for when I need to double or triple the recipe!
    http://www.alexandracooks.com/2012/11/07/my-mothers-peasant-bread-the-best-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/

  2. Ellen Joyce says:

    I’m also a big fan of Jim Lahey’s No-knead recipe, but that makes a larger loaf than one person can eat in a day or two.

  3. Soo good. 🙂