As a little girl, I can remember going to my Grandma Flo's house for a week or two in the summer and eating home made bread morning, noon, and night--with real butter. If you need to put on weight, it's an excellent way to do it; unfortunately, I did not need to gain weight.
Ever since then, I've always wanted to make my own bread. I've done it a few times with success, but after moving into an old and drafty house, the temperature is never quite right for letting dough rise. I gave up. Until I read about and purchased Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Last night, finding the dough bursting out of every seam and opening in the container, I was forced to make bread before going to bed, but it was soooo easy. The beauty of the basic technique in this book is that you mix your ingredients in a container that isn't completely airtight and that is big enough to allow for expansion of the dough--and you throw it in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake. Your dough keeps for 14 days, allowing you to make up to four one-pound loaves during that time.
When you decide you're ready to bake, simply grab a one pound hunk from your container, shape it, and let it rest on the counter while your oven preheats. When the oven is ready, add a broiler pan of hot water on the bottom rack for steam, and bake for 35 minutes. How easy is that! The bread comes out brown and crisp on the outside while being soft and chewy on the inside. Delish!
Purists will be disappointed that there is no kneading. And, I admit, I miss that a little bit myself. However, it is so quick and easy to do, I can accept the trade-off in order to have fresh bread at the drop of a hat. I can always make a traditional loaf if I have the time and inclination.
Anthony likes the sandwich thins you can buy at the store, so my attempt at doing sandwich thins at home is to make four small, flat "buns" when I make one boule of bread. Caution: You the small, flat buns take less time to cook, so you have to watch them or might might end of with hard discs for skeet shooting. I have four available for anyone who's planning on skeet shooting in the near future.
Again, you can control your ingredients so that you know exactly what you're eating. The book contains basic bread recipes for white and whole grain breads as well as recipes to vary the basics.
I've got to tell Jim about the bread book. He has tried making bread on and off but is always disappointed with the end result or decides it's too time-consuming. Thanks for the tip! (Angela)
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