Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Rustic Crusty French Bread - Fun, Funky & Fabulous

I'm not a big bread baker (not sweet enough for this cake loving gal), but I was intrigued by the simple Rustic Crusty French Bread recipe I found in my newest cookbook: Fun, Funky & Fabulous - New Orleans' Casual Restaurant Recipes.


He is the bread just coming out of the oven.  Doesn't it look fabulous.  (It does look a little overcooked, but hey, that is my trademark.)


The recipe has just four ingredients: flour, salt, yeast, and water.


And best of all the dough just takes a few minutes to mix with a wooden spoon.  No kneading, no bread hook, just stir it a few times and place it someplace warm to rise.  Easy-peasy.   But I have to admit that my first batch didn't turn out so fabulous.  The recipe calls for All-Purpose flour, but the AP flour I keep in the house is a soft flour (Martha White).  While the Martha White is great for tender cakes and cookies, it is not so good for bread.  The Martha White just doesn't have enough gluten to allow bread dough to get a good rise.  The second loaf, which was made with Gold Medal Bread Flour, came out much nicer.


The only bummer about the bread recipe is that you can't whip it up at the last minute.  Because after mixing you need to let it rise for at least 12 hours.  I usually make the dough at night, allow it to rise overnight, and bake it in the morning.


After rising, you form the dough into a ball and cut a hash pattern in the top.


Next it goes into a Dutch Oven.  I'm using this nifty Cast Aluminum Dutch Oven by CorningWare.  The pot is a little finicky to use (long list of do's and don'ts associated with the pot) but it works great and cleanup is a breeze.


With the cover on the Dutch Oven bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. 


Then remove the cover and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown.



Slice and enjoy.  But be aware, they call this stuff Rustic Crusty French Bread for a reason -- it is very, very, very crusty.  It is so crusty I had to use an electric knife to cut it into slices. But once sliced, the crust was crunch and chewy and oh-so delicious.


(Below is the first loaf I baked using the Martha White AP flour.  You can tell that it is much flatter than the Gold Medal Bread Flour used above. So the type and brand of flour do make a difference when baking bread.)


  

So if you are new to bread baking, or just want to try a new technique/recipe, then give this Simple Rustic Crusty French Bread a try.  It is really worth the time. 



Happy Baking,


Carol








Tuesday, February 7, 2012

TWD: White Loaves

Hello Tuesday! Tuesday with Dorie that is. Today is the start of a new baking adventure using the world famous book Baking with Julia. This week's TWD selection of White Loaves is brought to you by Laurie and Jules. You can find the recipe on Jules' blog.

So how did my loaves fare? Take a look...

Lovely, puffy, loaves. Loaves so full of yeast I feared they would take over my kitchen.



Just out of the oven. Can't you just smell the aroma of freshly baked bread?



Ah, bread. If it weren't for you I would still fit in my pants!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

Before this week I was a Raisin Bread virgin. I had never tasted a slice in all my (shhh 47) years on this earth.

I was missing so much, so very much. Just take a look...



Soft, tender-crumbed sweet bread with a swirl of cinnamon sugar and plump, juicy raisins. Many thanks to Susan of Food.Baby for selecting such a great baking project.

Job update: Only 8 days till the pink slip arrives. I bought an individual health insurance policy yesterday because COBRA was just too expensive! My work policy ends at midnight on June 30th and the new policy start at 0:01 am on July 1st. Is that cutting it too close? I guess I should have overlapped them by a day but I didn't think about it at the time. Oh well, next time I'll know better.