5 min bread

I have a minor love of bread. I really could take it or leave it. However making bread is so much fun! I really don’t mind measuring out flour and kneading bread is a cathartic act. But that will not stop me from trying to find better ways to do it. I had a great time with the No-Knead craze that took hold of the cooking world a couple of years ago. It was revolutionary and fit right in with my motto “there has got to be an easier way of doing this”. It was however very challenging when it came to timing. Those of you who have used his method know what I am talking about.

About the same time this crazy new way of making bread was coming out a Medical Doctor who moved from New York to Minnesota was experimenting in his own kitchen trying to find an easier way to make the bread he so loved in his home state. He met a chef they rubbed their brains together and Bing bang boom here we are with “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”.

This is a truly cool way to make bread. It’s a snap to mix up the dough and you really only need an hour or so to make the bread after that. The best part is after the dough is made you have up to 2 weeks to use it up. And the possibilities are endless!
If you are interested in their story check it out here: Star Tribune article 12/07/2007

So lets get down to the nitty gritty. I dont think I am telling tales out of school here when I give this recipe it is available here.

Master Bread Recipe
from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”

Preparation time: 15 minutes to prepare enough dough for four loaves, to be baked over four days. Each daily loaf will average 5 minutes of active preparation time.

Makes four 1-pound loaves

• 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100º F)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)
• Cornmeal for the pizza peel

1. In a 5-quart bowl, mix the yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are uniformly moist. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.
2. Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.
3. After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or covered (non completely airtight) and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.
4. On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven. Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Store the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.
5. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. While shaping, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. Shaping the loaf this way should take no more than 1 minute.
6. Place the dough on the pizza peel. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time.
7. Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.
8. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.
9. Slide the loaf off the peel and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

I have made with this dough:

• Pizza Dough (cut off a piece and roll it flat and as round as you like, no need to proof)
• Pitas (cut off a smaller piece than the pizza and roll it as flat as you can, no need to proof)
• Rolls (take on big piece of dough and cut it into small equal sizes, roll with a cupped hand let the proof on a sheet pan)
• Bread Sticks
• Batard (picture above)

Enjoy some homemade bread. It doesn’t take much and it is very rewarding.

J.Jones