Bread.
What’s your favorite recipe for bread, made using hands and an oven but no bread machine, and easy for a bread beginner, and not so time-consuming that it’ll discourage me from baking bread in the future? Not sourdough: I don’t have starter, and don’t like sourdough enough to seek it out.
LiveJournal readers, please to comment using the URL up top and not directly on LJ; I won’t see the latter.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Oooooh good question. I say make bagels :)
from my LJ:
Ingredients measured weights
Water 2.75 C. 1.35 lb.
Barley Malt 3 T. 0.14Ib.
Demerrara Sugar 1 T. 0.04 lb.
Yeast 1 tsp. 0.01 lb.
Salt 1 T. 0.05 lb.
Bread Flour 8.25 C. 2.70 lb.
Mixing the dough:
1. Put all the barley malt into the bowl.
2. Add a bit of flour from the recipe amount and work it into the barley malt until the malt is off of the sides and bottom of the bowl.
3. Add the water and demerrara sugar and stir it in with a fork.
4. Sprinkle all the remaining flour on top.
5. Add the yeast and salt.
6. Stir the mixture with a fork until it comes together in a shaggy mass.
7. Empty the bowl onto a clean dry work surface. Don’t worry if there is still loose flour and partially mixed bits, these will work in as you knead the dough.
9. Knead the dough for 8 minutes, then put the plain dough into an oiled container. Covered loosely with plastic wrap.
10. Allow to ferment for 1-2 hours in a warm spot.
Shaping the bagels:
1. First divide your plain dough into 18 evenly sized pieces.
2. Lightly round the plain pieces and set them aside, covered.
3. Roll the bagel pieces out into even strands of about 8 inches each.
4. Leave a bubble of dough at each end so that your strands look like barbells.
5. Wrap the strands around your hand and overlap the barbells by about 1-2 inches.
6. Use a rolling motion against the bench to seal the two ends together.
7. Place bagels on a floured surface and allowed to rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.
8. Lightly cover the bagels with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.
Baking:
1. Pre heat the oven to 475 F
2. Fill a stock pot about half way up with water and bring to a boil.
3. Prep bins of any toppings you’d like your bagels
4. Drop as many bagels as you can fit into the pot and boil from 1 minute.
5. After a minute, scoop the bagels out of the water and drop them into the topping containers.
6. Once they are rolled in the toppings, transfer them immediately on to a silpat covered baking sheet and place directly into the oven.
7. Allow the bagels to bake for 3 full minutes, then flip directly on to the baking stone, and continue baking your bagels for another 18-22 minutes.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 until all your bagels are baked.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I haven’t made it myself, but lots of people rave about Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread recipe.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Do you want sweet bread or savory? Whole wheat or white?
September 19th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Savory!, and I don’t care about the other details, although hooray if you can help me use the spelt flour, of which we seem to have way too much.
September 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Re: no-knead bread. It’s fun and reasonably tasty. The NYT posted a follow-up including increasing the salt. The updated recipe is here
October 1st, 2007 at 7:03 pm
1/2 cup unsweetened multi-grain cereal (such as 7-grain)
2 cups boiling water
1 envelope dry yeast
4 1/3 cups (about) bread flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons flax seeds*
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 cups water
preparation
Place cereal in large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over. Let stand until mixture cools to between 105°F. and 115°F., about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle yeast over cereal. Add 1 cup bread flour, oil, sugar and salt and stir until smooth. Gradually mix in enough remaining bread flour to form dough. Cover dough; let rest 15 minutes.
Turn out dough onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes. Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.
Mix all seeds in bowl. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly oiled surface. Knead briefly. Shape into 12×4-inch loaf.Sprinkle baking sheet with 2 teaspoons seeds. Place loaf atop seeds. Cover with towel. Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
Position 1 oven rack in center and 1 just below center in oven. Place baking pan on lower rack and preheat oven to 425°F. Brush loaf with water. Sprinkle with remaining seed mixture. Using sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in surface of loaf. Place baking sheet with loaf in oven. Immediately pour 2 cups water into hot pan on lower rack in oven (water will steam).
Bake loaf until golden and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.