Artisan French Bread in Five Minutes Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Equipment:
Cutting board
Serrated knife
Baking stone (a baking sheet will work but bottom won’t be as crunchy)
Broiler pan, or something else to hold water in the oven
Ingredients
3 c lukewarm water, to speed up the rising stage
1 ½ Tb granulated yeast
1 ½ Tb kosher or other coarse salt
6 ½ c unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method
1 c hot tap water
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Directions: |
Directions:Mixing and Storing Dough
1.Add yeast and salt to the water in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container.
2. Mix in the flour; adding it all at once. Don’t compress the flour as you measure it or you will throw off the amount. Don’t knead! You’re finished mixing when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. Dough will be wet and loose enough that it will conform to the shape of the container.
3.Allow to rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours – until it begins to collapse or flattens on top. You can use the dough anytime after this period, but it is easier to handle after chilling in the fridge. The dough will keep in the fridge for about 14 days.
On Baking Day
4.Shape a loaf in 30 to 60 seconds; First prepare a cutting board by liberally sprinkling it with cornmeal or flour to keep the loaf from sticking. Sprinkle your refridgerated dough with flour, then pull up and cut (serated knife works best) off a 1-pound (grape-fruit size) piece of dough. Hold the dough in your hands and add a little flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, turning a quarter turn as you go. The dusting flour should fall off – its not meant to be incorporated into the dough. The final product should be a smooth and cohesive ball, and the process should only take 30 to 60 seconds.
5.Place the shaped ball on the cornmeal-covered cutting board and allow the loaf to rest about 20 minutes – it doesn’t need to be covered.
6.After 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 450F with a baking stone on the lowest rack. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread. Dust the top of the loaf with some flour, which will allow a knife to pass through without sticking. Use a serrated knife to cut, no more than ¼” deep, a “scallop” or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top of the loaf.
7.After letting the oven warm up for another 20 minutes (the bread has been resting for a total of 40 now, slide the loaf from the cutting board onto the stone in the oven (use a quick jerk of the wrist to slide the bread off. Immediately pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler pan and close the door to trap the steam. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow it to cool completely before slicing. |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Philosophy: Cassy and Justin accidentally took home a bread baking book after Christmas break in 2008. This book was “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. Justin and Cassy were skeptical that they could really produce tasty bread with that crispy crust and moist inside, but the book turned out to be a fantastic success. The master recipe from the book has routinely turned out bakery-quality bread with little effort. We’ve recorded the master recipe for you here, and if you like it, make sure to check out the whole book.
The premise is that you can mix up the dough on a weekend, then quickly pull it out of the fridge later when you want to bake a loaf. That way, you only spend 5 minutes of hands on time during the week.
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