Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I've never been much of a baker and I didn't take Home Economics in school (like most girls).  Learning to sew and cook just weren't high priorities for me.  I was much more interested in hanging out with my friends and looking for trouble.  After all, don't they sell most everything you might possibly want at the store?  My mother wasn't a bread baker.  My grandmother wasn't a bread baker.  No, in our house....Mrs. Baird's was our bread baker.  Like most people, we drove to the grocery store to be greeted by the endless selection of sliced prepackaged perfection.  With big machines mixing, kneading, baking and perfectly pre-slicing my bread, why on earth would I ever need to know how to do it myself? 

As I grew older and my consumption of sandwiches made at home dwindled, I discovered Artisan bread.  Until recently, purchasing Artisan bread was almost a weekly occurrence in my household.  We eat it with dinner almost every night.  There is something about Artisan bread that makes my mouth water just writing about it.  I love its thick crust and its unique texture.  I particularly love it topped with sea salt or garlic and roma tomatoes.  YUM!  The one thing I do not like about it is the price.  Depending on its size and composition, it can run me between $3.00 and $7.00 a loaf.  EEEK.

Solution:  Project Bread Head.  I decided to learn to make it myself.  For those of you interested, I HIGHLY recommend the purchase of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"

They also have a website that will walk you through everything!  Artisan Bread in Five

I will give you the basic low-down here, but buy the book and visit the site!  You won't regret it!

If you think that bread baking is a long tedious process and therefore don't have time to learn
this handy self sufficient craft....Think again!  I tried it once and I'm hooked!   It's far cheaper
to make it yourself. It also has fewer ingredients than store bought bread and subsequently fewer
preservatives.  EPIC WIN!

Let's compare.....

Regular Store bought bread ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (flour, barley malt, ferrous
sulfate (iron),“B” vitamins (niacin, thaimine mononitrate (B1), riboflavin (B2), folic acid)), water,
sweetener(high fructose corn syrup or sugar), yeast, wheat bran, whole wheat flour, wheat gluten, 
molasses.Contains 2% or less of: soybean oil, salt, sweet dairy whey, butter (cream, salt, enzymes),

maltodextrin, honey, corn syrup, calcium sulfate, soy flur, dough conditioners (may contain:

dicalcium phosphate, calcium dioxide, sodium stearoyl lactylate, ethoxylated mono and

diglycerides, mono and diglycerides, and/or datem), yeast nutrients (may contain: ammonium

sulfate, ammonium chloride, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, and/or ammonium

phosphate), cornstarch, wheat starch, vinegar, natural flavor, beta carotene (color), enzymes,

calcium propionate (to retain freshness), soy lecithin.

Homemade Artisan Bread ingredients:  Unbleached Flour, yeast, salt and water. 

I think that speaks for itself.  Now for the fun part!  I documented one of my quick bread making 
sessions to share with you.  I hope you find it inspirational and take a crack at it yourself!

Making Artisan Bread Step 1:  Acquire Ingredients 

1.  Large 6 quart container (I bought mine at Sam's in a package of 3 for $12.48).  
     Note: I've also found that a 6qt plastic shoe box works well and fits perfectly in the fridge. 
     (You can purchase one at Dollar Tree for $1.)  Obviously you can also use a glass container
     to avoid plastics.
2.  Flour (You will need 2 lbs for each batch).  You can purchase unbleached flour or grind your own.

     Note:  I have a hand grinder and an electric grinder.  I still use my Bendtec to grind my wheat.

3.  Yeast (Also available at Sam's in bulk (2 1lb bags for $4.68, a nice price)

4.  Kosher Salt (Just buy a small box, you won't use much)

5.  Water (Filtered, Tap or Bottled will work, whichever your family prefers)
6.  A Pizza Peel or Parchment Paper  
7.  Corn Meal if you'll be using it (I use flour instead)

 

Making Artisan Bread Step 2:  Locate basic recipe.
I have listed the basic recipe below, but really suggest you buy the book for all of the fantastic variations, tips, tricks and other recipes it contains.

Basic Recipe:

3 cups  lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the pizza peel

Making Artisan Bread Step 3:  Make bread mix!
I will go through the basic steps here and YES you can make the bread with these instructions (I do it regularly now), but after you try a batch and fall in love, BUY THE BOOK or check for it at your local library!

1.  Measure out three cups of lukewarm water and place it in your container
2.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated yeast
3.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt
4.  Measure out 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (gently scoop it and level it off with a knife, do NOT pack it down) and add to your water, yeast and salt. 
5.  Mix with a wooden spoon until all water is absorbed and all flour is wet.  This is a wet dough, so if yours is too dry, add a little more water (a few tablespoons at a time until well mixed). 
It should look like this:

6.  Cover loosely (by just setting the lid on top - DO NOT SEAL!)  I just leave it out on the counter.
7.  Let rise for about 2 hours.  If you live in a colder climate, you can let it rise for up to 5 hours. 
It should go from this:

To this:

And become flat on the top as so:

8.  Place lid on top (again DO NOT SEAL) and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks! 


Making Artisan Bread Step 4:  Let's make some bread!
You can find some more official instructions here: Mother Earth News and I do recommend reading the entire article if you haven't purchased the book. 

1.  Throw a little cornmeal on a pizza peel (easiest) or my versions: a little flour on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Parchment paper my favorite as it can go right in the oven with the bread until the bottom is done enough to slide it away. 
2.  Flour your hands and remove dough from refrigerator and pull out about a 1 lb piece (no you don't have to weigh it).  I've pulled out everything from a baseball size to a grapefruit size, just don't use it all!  I would say about 3 loaves per bucket is my average. 
3.  Keeping dough in a ball in one hand, throw a little dusting of flour over it and wrap dough from top to bottom with both hands creating a smooth top and a bunched up bottom. This is vital to create the "Gluten Cloak".  You ideally want to see a stretched smooth appearance around the top of the bread and it really doesn't matter how bunched the bottom is.  Don't freak out if you can't get it perfectly smooth.  I've made some great bread without a perfect gluten cloak.

4.  Place dough on your cornmeal or floured surface of choice (see #1) and let it sit for about 90 minutes. 


Making Artisan Bread Step 5:  Let's BAKE our bread!
1.  About 20 minutes before you bake your bread, preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
2.  Place a metal pan (broiler, brownie etc.) on the lowest rack.
3.  Place a pizza stone on the middle rack.  I use my favorite Pampered Chef stone (Actually, I use it for everything). 
4.  Dust top of bread with flour and use a bread knife to cut slits on the top as seen below (I use less flour than most, but if the top is white...don't worry.)  I also sometimes salt the top with sea salt at this point, but that's a personal preference. 

5.  Bake your bread for about 30 minutes or until it is golden brown. 
6.  Remove and let cool on a wire rack until room temperature. 

Making Artisan Bread Step 6:  Eat the darn bread already! 

It's really hard to wait for it to cool, but trust me...it's so worth it!  If you don't, the crust will become soft. 

Now, I'm making a batch of dough every few days and I haven't bought a fancy specialty loaf since.  At a cost of about $0.50 a loaf to make it myself,  I don't think that I ever will!

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