Makes 4 loaves. They don't all have to be baked on the first day.
Ingredients
6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flower
2 packets of yeast
3/4 Tbsp ordinary table salt
3 cups of warm water (from the tap is fine. If it's too hot it'll kill the yeast!)
Tools
big mixing bowl
wooden spoon (or other sturdy spoon)
plastic grocery bag
cookie sheet (or some kind of pan on/in which to bake the bread)
other crappy pan (in which you'll put water in the oven while the bread is baking, so when the water evaporates it'll leave hard water residue that's hard to clean and/or rust your pan)
2-3 coffee mugs of hot water (won't need this until baking time)
bread knife (optional--you can always just tear apart your bread!)
Steps
1. Dump all of the ingredients into the bowl in the order they are listed (I didn't remember to take a photo of the salt, but you get the idea).
2. Stir it up with the wooden spoon until everything's mixed. The dough will be rather wet and sticky. You don't need to kneed.
3. Put the plastic bag over the bowl. Either place it in a sunny spot to rise for 2-4 hours (until doubled in size), or shove it in the fridge overnight (for up to two weeks!). If you're gonna keep it in the fridge for several days, it might be better to put it in a container with a loose lid (e.g., tupperware), rather than the plastic bag. The dough might dry out with only the bag on it.
When ready to bake a loaf
4. Preheat the oven to 425F
5. Sprinkle flour on a cutting board or a plate. This is where your dough ball will rest while the oven preheats.
6. Rip out your desired amount of dough from the bowl. The recipe is supposed to make 4 loaves, so I try to eyeball 1/4 of the dough. Sometimes this is easier if I sprinkle flour on my hands and on the top of the dough first.
7. Shape the dough in to a ball. Do this by pulling the sides of the dough down and tucking them under, from the sides to the center. Do this a couple of times until the top looks smoother than when you started (this is called a "gluten cloak"). Once you're satisfied with your ball, place it on the floured surface. Let it rest/rise while the oven preheats, or for 20-40 minutes.
8. When you're ready to bake, take the bread knife or a steak knife and slash the top of the bread a couple of times. I usually cut about 5 mm deep and I usually make about 4 slashes 2 cm apart.
9. Microwave the cups of water until boiling (1-2 minutes). Pour the water into the crappy pan (preferably not your favorite pan) that you've placed on the bottom rack of the oven.
10. Transfer the ball to a cookie sheet/pan. Place in the oven, center rack, above the water.
11. Bake at 425F for ~40 minutes, or until the crust of the bread is light brown and the bread makes a hollow sound when you knock on it with your knuckles (I myself have not quite figured this out and almost always underbake my bread).
12. Slice and enjoy!
Variations
1. I almost always substitute half of the white flour for whole wheat flour, and I almost always add 1/4 c of something interesting like flax meal.
Ingredients
6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flower
2 packets of yeast
3/4 Tbsp ordinary table salt
3 cups of warm water (from the tap is fine. If it's too hot it'll kill the yeast!)
Tools
big mixing bowl
wooden spoon (or other sturdy spoon)
plastic grocery bag
cookie sheet (or some kind of pan on/in which to bake the bread)
other crappy pan (in which you'll put water in the oven while the bread is baking, so when the water evaporates it'll leave hard water residue that's hard to clean and/or rust your pan)
2-3 coffee mugs of hot water (won't need this until baking time)
bread knife (optional--you can always just tear apart your bread!)
Steps
1. Dump all of the ingredients into the bowl in the order they are listed (I didn't remember to take a photo of the salt, but you get the idea).
2. Stir it up with the wooden spoon until everything's mixed. The dough will be rather wet and sticky. You don't need to kneed.
3. Put the plastic bag over the bowl. Either place it in a sunny spot to rise for 2-4 hours (until doubled in size), or shove it in the fridge overnight (for up to two weeks!). If you're gonna keep it in the fridge for several days, it might be better to put it in a container with a loose lid (e.g., tupperware), rather than the plastic bag. The dough might dry out with only the bag on it.
 |
| Here's my dough, rising on the front porch. |
4. Preheat the oven to 425F
5. Sprinkle flour on a cutting board or a plate. This is where your dough ball will rest while the oven preheats.
6. Rip out your desired amount of dough from the bowl. The recipe is supposed to make 4 loaves, so I try to eyeball 1/4 of the dough. Sometimes this is easier if I sprinkle flour on my hands and on the top of the dough first.
7. Shape the dough in to a ball. Do this by pulling the sides of the dough down and tucking them under, from the sides to the center. Do this a couple of times until the top looks smoother than when you started (this is called a "gluten cloak"). Once you're satisfied with your ball, place it on the floured surface. Let it rest/rise while the oven preheats, or for 20-40 minutes.
 |
| I did a terrible job of dividing the dough into four equal-sized loaves. Also, I baked all four loaves this time because I was having company, but you could just rip of enough dough for one loaf and then put the rest of the dough in the fridge for a different day. |
9. Microwave the cups of water until boiling (1-2 minutes). Pour the water into the crappy pan (preferably not your favorite pan) that you've placed on the bottom rack of the oven.
10. Transfer the ball to a cookie sheet/pan. Place in the oven, center rack, above the water.
11. Bake at 425F for ~40 minutes, or until the crust of the bread is light brown and the bread makes a hollow sound when you knock on it with your knuckles (I myself have not quite figured this out and almost always underbake my bread).
12. Slice and enjoy!
Variations
1. I almost always substitute half of the white flour for whole wheat flour, and I almost always add 1/4 c of something interesting like flax meal.
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