Everyone seems to be trying their hand at baking bread now a days, and I don’t blame them. Baking bread is a fun pastime that requires few ingredients for a basic loaf and is always a showstopper.
Based off the boule recipe in the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Time: 2 hours
Serving size: 1-2 loaves depending on how large you want them
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast (or one packet)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt*
- 3 cups of flour
- Cornmeal for the tray
Does this recipe sound good? Here are some more delicious recipes from our staff. They’ve made guacamole, chicken cordon bleu, and pumpkin cookies.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a large mixing bowl and add the salt.
- Mix all the flour together at once. Kneading is not necessary, but if the dough becomes to hard to mix with a spoon or spatula you can use your hands. Remember to lightly dust your hands with flour first.
- After the flour is incorporated allow the dough to rise, either in the mixing bowl while covered with a kitchen towel or in a container of your choice. Do not use an airtight container. Mason jars or screw top lids can explode from the pressure of the yeast! Let sit until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- After the dough has risen, “punch down” the dough by forming it into a loose ball. Do not use to much force, be gentle. Removing too much air produces a dense loaf.
- For baking, dust a baking sheet or loaf pan with cornmeal and either form the dough into a log shape or set on the baking sheet in the loose ball. Allow to rise a second time for 20 minutes.
- Time to bake! Before placing in the oven, you can take a bread knife and slice a shallow cut into the top. Cook in a 425 degree oven and check after 20 minutes. If the loaf is golden brown and sounds solid when tapped you’re good to go! Let cool before slicing.
*If using table salt, cut amount down by ¼ . Kosher salt is larger than table salt so bread could become to salty if 1 tablespoon is used.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected].