TheFoodTasting

Desciption

after posting this recipe, and making the bread at least 3 times a week, i have simplified the rising process, and eliminated the messy parts. the original recipe comes from baker jim lahey of the sullivan street bakery, and has been discussed on zaar. i have tweaked it a bit, and this is the closest i can come to those french "boules". it is real bread bread, not chemical cottonwool. all you need is time. the instructions are terribly long, but once you've read through it, you will see it's only to make the already-easy process still easier. now you only need hunt up a suitably heavy pot with lid ... this is the best bread i've eaten in years. update, 13-8-07: decided to try and use 4 cups flour to get a fatter loaf. it worked, and with the same smallish pot i got a lovely loaf. this 2nd recipe is tacked on to the instruction list. good luck! by the way, if you want wholewheat bread, don't use this recipe. rather use your bread machine or your normal way of bread-making. this very french-style loaf should be made from white bread flour, and you can add in a little fine rye flour. sometimes i add 1 cup of "brown bread grain flour" which is very finely stone-milled, and has no large bran flakes. but basically, this is a white bread. go on, indulge! slice a piece for yourself when you can handle it and the crust is still crunchy-hard ... heaven!

Tags

#Time-to-make #Course #Main-ingredient #Preparation #Healthy #5-ingredients-or-less #Breads #Easy #Low-fat #Vegan #Vegetarian #Grains #Dietary #Low-cholesterol #Low-saturated-fat #Yeast #Low-in-something #Pasta-rice-and-grains #4-hours-or-less

Steps

1. "since first making this bread according to the original instructions
2. Ive simplified the process"
3. I have now bought a fairly deep plastic bowl with sloping edges
4. So it has a smallish bottom
5. The plastic seems almost -- not quite -- non-stick
6. And this is the method i use now:
7. In such a lightly greased plastic bowl
8. Put the flour
9. And add the yeast
10. Sugar and salt
11. You may want to add less salt
12. But we found the original amount not enough
13. Mix through
14. Add the water and stir the lot through until well mixed to a nice
15. Smooth
16. Quite sloppy dough
17. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put a kitchen terry towel or two over the top as well
18. Stand in a draught-free place for 18 hours
19. For me it works best to mix this up at 3pm
20. "this means the dough is ready at 9am the next morning and i dont even have to get up early like my grandmother did to bake those huge farm loaves in the old days"
21. "after 18 hours the dough should be puffy and have little bubble holes on top and have more or less doubled in size
22. But dont worry too much about that"
23. Instead of -- as the original recipe said -- turning out the dough on to a towel
24. Do the following: from the sides of the bowl
25. Scrape the dough away with light movements and fold it over on itself with floury fingers
26. Turn the bowl round and round
27. Flattening the dough by repeating this "folding over"
28. Lightly press a little flatter
29. Cover bowl with same plastic used before
30. And same terry towels
31. Leave to rise again -- 2 hours long
32. Half an hour before the 2 hours are up
33. Put your oven on 450 deg f / 220 deg celsius
34. At the same time you need a heavy pot with a fitting lid
35. And this will go into the cold
36. Heating-up oven
37. Empty
38. The lid is to keep in the steam and cause that wonderful crust to form
39. Nothing beats an iron pot
40. Le creuset will do too
41. And ceramic has been mentioned
42. I use a non-stick oval-shaped iron pot with a domed lid
43. You do not need a "6 - 8 quart pot"