I love featuring "tastes of my childhood" on No Free Lunch, and today's is perhaps more ingrained in my memory than any other. Grandpa has been making this bread for longer than I can remember. Not a day goes by that he doesn't have some in his house, and the dog wouldn't have it any other way. I vividly remember going to Grandpa's house and eating cheese toast made from this bread, with a slice of American cheese, slightly blackened in the toaster. It's also an ever-present component of Christmas Day brunch with sliced turkey and eggs. Even if you don't have the associated memories, this is a very nice bread, crusty on the outside and almost spongy on the inside, perfect with your favorite cheese.
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package dry active yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups hot water (105-115 degrees)
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix the yeast and flour. Push the flour to the sides to form a well in the center. Measure out the water, using a thermometer to check the temperature. Pour the water into the well. Circle the edge of the well with your finger, slowly absorbing the water as the flour gets mixed in. Mix everything together, forming the dough into a big blob.
Next, knead the dough. You can do this by hand or in a food processor with the bread attachment. Run the food processor for 45 seconds. This will, of course, take longer by hand.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-3 hours. After rising, punch down, cover the bowl again and let rise for 1-2 more hours.
Divide and form the dough into loaves. You can either make two big ones or three small ones. While doing this, have some extra flour on hand to spread around if things get sticky. Place the loaves into lightly oiled french bread trays. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for one more hour. Remember to preheat the oven partway through.
Bake the loaves at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Spray the loaves every 3 minutes, 3 times total.
The bread is great fresh out of the oven, but you can also put it in the fridge or freezer to keep for later. It's also a great way to serve Ariel's strawberry jam.
Imagine, now, that someday Indy's grandchildren will write a blog post about coffee can raisin bread. The world is beautiful in its intricacies.
ReplyDeleteI need to steal that recipe.
DeleteHe sent me a closely related recipe:
ReplyDelete1. Take can of baked beans. Open.
2. Leave the beans in it.
3. Put bread in it.
4. Mix liberally.
5. Microwave.
6. Eat.
All rights reserved Harrison Turner.
I think I will call this "Indy's Hobo Bread Pudding."
Deletewhat do you suggust people who don't just randomly have a french bread pan in their drawer do? That is a highly specific pan, dear.
ReplyDeleteBut it looks amazing. What a great way to eat jam. :-p
If you want to make baguettes, you should probably get this type of cookware.
DeleteYou could always take the same basic recipe, and form normal bread loaves in your other pans.
Sebastian, you did very well for your first jump into bread making and I can attest to how good it tasted with Ariel's fresh strawberry jam. As to Ariel's question about the bread pan, she can make 2 free form loaves on a cookie sheet. I have done this often either as a round or oval. You don't get the extra crust as a baguette but still tastes great. I also like to turn the oven down to 350 after the spraying process as it slows the browning process and about 5 minutes before taking it out I dump the loafs out of the pan to brown the bottom more. Sammy (the dog) enjoyed a piece today!
ReplyDeleteCoralie and Sebastian are right. The "hearth" style free form is just as good. An elongated oval is a great country-style shape for this bread. When the loaf is a bit bigger than a baguette, it is wise to turn down the temperature slightly because the larger shape will take a little longer to bake. A lower temp will prevent browning too soon. I also tend to like to form the loaf a bit higher to accommodate for the soft dough slumping a bit during the rise.
ReplyDelete