CB Bakes...
Baking and cooking are the best way to relax. The touch of stretching the dough, the smell of the bread and the joy of sharing with others brightens my life. Is there a better way to spend your day knowing you are creating something from just water, flour, salt and yeast.
I also enjoy sharing my knowledge of bread making with others. Anyone can experience having a hot, fresh bread for dinner with just four ingredients and five minutes. Check out the recipe below from my recent zoom demonstration. It is a No-Knead recipe. I especially love making bread with my sourdough starter. I hope to offer another zoom demonstration showing how easy it is to make your own starter and create a new kind of bread soon.
I also enjoy sharing my knowledge of bread making with others. Anyone can experience having a hot, fresh bread for dinner with just four ingredients and five minutes. Check out the recipe below from my recent zoom demonstration. It is a No-Knead recipe. I especially love making bread with my sourdough starter. I hope to offer another zoom demonstration showing how easy it is to make your own starter and create a new kind of bread soon.
Master Recipe
From the Book “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” by Jeff Herzberg and Zoe Francois
Ingredients:
Lukewarm water
(100 degrees F or below)
3 Cups (Volume (US))
1 lb 8 oz (Weight (US))
680 grams (Weight (metric))
Granulated Yeast
1 Tablespoon (Volume (US))
.35 oz (Weight (US))
10 grams (Weight (metric))
Kosher salt
(I used sea salt)
1-1 ½ Tablespoons (Volume (US))
.6 to .9 oz (Weight (US))
17 to 25 grams (Weight (metric))
All-purpose flour
6 ½ cups (Volume (US))
(scoop and sweep)
2 lbs (Weight (US))
910 grams (Weight (metric))
Warm the water slightly. It should feel a little warmer than body temperature. By using warm water, the dough will rise to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. You can use cold water and get the same result, but the first rising in the bowl will take longer.
Add yeast and salt to the water in a 6 qt. bowl or lidded food bucket. Mix.
Mix in the flour – kneading is unnecessary. Add all the flour at once. Mix with spoon or wet hands to incorporate all the flour and water. You are done mixing when you create a shaggy dough. It is done in just a few minutes. Do not over mix.
Allow the dough to rise. Cover with a lid, but not airtight. Leave the lid ajar or loosely covered with plastic wrap. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse or flatten on the top, about 2 hours. Then refrigerate it and use it over the next two weeks. Leaving the dough on the counter for longer than 2 hours will not harm the dough. You can even leave it overnight. You can use a portion of the dough after two hours, though refrigerating the dough, at least 3 hours, makes it easier to work with when shaping. Once refrigerated, the dough will have shrunk back upon itself and will never rise again in the bucket. This is normal. DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH. It will lose all the gas you have created by letting it sit.
On Baking Day:
Prepare a piece of parchment to put the dough on once you have shaped it. Have a bowl of flour ready for the dough after you have cut off a section. Dust the surface of your dough in the bucket and cut off a piece of dough about 1 lb (grapefruit size). Place the dough in the floured bowl with top of dough from bucket touching flour in bowl (sticky side should be up). Pick up the dough with slightly floured hands and gently stretch the surface of the dough (flour side up) around the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter of a turn as you go, tucking dough underneath to pull top surface ever so slightly. The correct shape will be smooth and cohesive on top. The process should take no more than 20-40 seconds. Do not overwork the dough or the loaf may be dense. Lay the dough on the prepared parchment paper and cover with a bowl. If covering with plastic wrap, add a little bit of flour to the top of the dough to avoid sticking. (The book claims it does not need to be covered. I cover it with a bowl because it is easy and I can avoid the dough drying out). You may not see much rise at this point; more rising will occur during baking. Allow the dough to rest for 40 minutes.
Put your pot or heating vessel (baking stone) in the oven (add a cookie sheet on the bottom if using a baking stone. Never use glass, as it will shatter in the oven when the water and steam hits it.) Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees which will take about 20-30 minutes.
After the resting time, slash a ½” deep cross, scallop or tac-tac-top pattern into the top using a serrated bread knife or a lame.
Lay the loaf into the pot and put on the lid. OR slide the loaf onto the baking stone and gently add ice cubes to the cookie sheet below. Be careful to avoid the glass door of the oven. Alternatively, you can use a spray bottle filled with water and spray the oven surfaces to create steam. Steam is not needed if you are using a closed pot. The pot creates its own steam.
Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Check to see if it has risen. It will probably be a pale color in the pot. Uncover the pot and let it continue to bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how dark you like your bread. If using a stone, check after the first baking time and again decide it needs to bake longer. When done, place on cooling rack and let cool for at least 2 hours so bread does not become doughy.
Store remaining dough in the refrigerator for not longer than 2 weeks. The longer you store it, the more fermented and sour the dough will become.
Variation: Herb Bread
Follow the directions for mixing the dough and add the herbs to the water mixture.
From the Book “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” by Jeff Herzberg and Zoe Francois
Ingredients:
Lukewarm water
(100 degrees F or below)
3 Cups (Volume (US))
1 lb 8 oz (Weight (US))
680 grams (Weight (metric))
Granulated Yeast
1 Tablespoon (Volume (US))
.35 oz (Weight (US))
10 grams (Weight (metric))
Kosher salt
(I used sea salt)
1-1 ½ Tablespoons (Volume (US))
.6 to .9 oz (Weight (US))
17 to 25 grams (Weight (metric))
All-purpose flour
6 ½ cups (Volume (US))
(scoop and sweep)
2 lbs (Weight (US))
910 grams (Weight (metric))
Warm the water slightly. It should feel a little warmer than body temperature. By using warm water, the dough will rise to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. You can use cold water and get the same result, but the first rising in the bowl will take longer.
Add yeast and salt to the water in a 6 qt. bowl or lidded food bucket. Mix.
Mix in the flour – kneading is unnecessary. Add all the flour at once. Mix with spoon or wet hands to incorporate all the flour and water. You are done mixing when you create a shaggy dough. It is done in just a few minutes. Do not over mix.
Allow the dough to rise. Cover with a lid, but not airtight. Leave the lid ajar or loosely covered with plastic wrap. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse or flatten on the top, about 2 hours. Then refrigerate it and use it over the next two weeks. Leaving the dough on the counter for longer than 2 hours will not harm the dough. You can even leave it overnight. You can use a portion of the dough after two hours, though refrigerating the dough, at least 3 hours, makes it easier to work with when shaping. Once refrigerated, the dough will have shrunk back upon itself and will never rise again in the bucket. This is normal. DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH. It will lose all the gas you have created by letting it sit.
On Baking Day:
Prepare a piece of parchment to put the dough on once you have shaped it. Have a bowl of flour ready for the dough after you have cut off a section. Dust the surface of your dough in the bucket and cut off a piece of dough about 1 lb (grapefruit size). Place the dough in the floured bowl with top of dough from bucket touching flour in bowl (sticky side should be up). Pick up the dough with slightly floured hands and gently stretch the surface of the dough (flour side up) around the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter of a turn as you go, tucking dough underneath to pull top surface ever so slightly. The correct shape will be smooth and cohesive on top. The process should take no more than 20-40 seconds. Do not overwork the dough or the loaf may be dense. Lay the dough on the prepared parchment paper and cover with a bowl. If covering with plastic wrap, add a little bit of flour to the top of the dough to avoid sticking. (The book claims it does not need to be covered. I cover it with a bowl because it is easy and I can avoid the dough drying out). You may not see much rise at this point; more rising will occur during baking. Allow the dough to rest for 40 minutes.
Put your pot or heating vessel (baking stone) in the oven (add a cookie sheet on the bottom if using a baking stone. Never use glass, as it will shatter in the oven when the water and steam hits it.) Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees which will take about 20-30 minutes.
After the resting time, slash a ½” deep cross, scallop or tac-tac-top pattern into the top using a serrated bread knife or a lame.
Lay the loaf into the pot and put on the lid. OR slide the loaf onto the baking stone and gently add ice cubes to the cookie sheet below. Be careful to avoid the glass door of the oven. Alternatively, you can use a spray bottle filled with water and spray the oven surfaces to create steam. Steam is not needed if you are using a closed pot. The pot creates its own steam.
Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Check to see if it has risen. It will probably be a pale color in the pot. Uncover the pot and let it continue to bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how dark you like your bread. If using a stone, check after the first baking time and again decide it needs to bake longer. When done, place on cooling rack and let cool for at least 2 hours so bread does not become doughy.
Store remaining dough in the refrigerator for not longer than 2 weeks. The longer you store it, the more fermented and sour the dough will become.
Variation: Herb Bread
Follow the directions for mixing the dough and add the herbs to the water mixture.
