The Bread Basket -- No-Knead Bread

I decided to try this bread, not because I don't like the kneading part.  That can be quite theruptic after a long day at the office.  But everywhere I looked, I saw this receipe or a variation of it so I thought I'd try it. 

I got to use my Dad's big brown crockery bread bowl, so that was an added bonus.  I have punched down more batches of bread that I can count and it was fun to watch the Little Mouths plunge their little fists into the soft warm dough and watch it colapse around their hands. 

There couldn't be an easier recipe and while it does take about 24 hours to make, it only takes minutes of actual work.  And the bread was JUST BEAUTIFUL!  A first for me.  Every recipe I've tried has tasted good, but has left quite a lot to be desired in the looks department.  This bread was lovely, though.  Don't you think?

No-Knead Bread (New York Times)

3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup cool water

Mix everything together and cover with plastic wrap.  Put somewhere warm overnight.  I put it in the laundry, which is the warmest place in our house.  I mixed it together at about 7 PM and in the morning it looked like this:

It scared the Little Mouths, I think.  It looked a lot like spoiled eye of kneut or which's brew or something.

After about 18 hours or so, turn the bread out onto a well floured surface and fold over a few times.  Cover with the plastic again and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Now the recipe says to put flour on a towel, but the bread on it and cover with another towel.  This is recomended, because you have to get the bread into the preheated dutch oven and the towel acts like a little sling.  I did this the first time I made it and the bread stuck to the towel and made a big mess.  This time I oiled my original bowl, added a bit of parchment paper, and slipped the bread back in.

So either do the towel/sling thing or the parchment thing and let it raise for about 2 to 2.5 hours or until the loaf has doubled in size.

When it was time to transfer to the dutch oven preheated to 450 degrees in the oven, I just held the bowl over the pot resting on the oven rack, tilted the bowl and tugged on the corner of the parchment.  It slid east as can be into the pot and I removed the parchment.

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 mintues with the lid on and 15-30 minutes until the crust is brown and crunchy.  It tasted as good as it looks and got thumbs up from Big Mama and the Little Mouths devoured it. 

So good!


This recipe is posted at all or some of the WONDERFUL blogs on my "Looky Here" page.

The Bread Basket -- Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

I took inspiration for these rolls from the instruction booklet of my bread machine, of all places.  I wanted a flaky roll to use for dinner last week and sliders, the next day.  This is what I came up with, and while I'm not getting much better at shaping the rolls, I had 13 instead of 12 and had to squeeze one in, they really were good.

Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

1/2 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F.)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/8 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups bread flour

1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, put all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer and select dough setting.

When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 12 (or 13) portions. Roll dough into balls and place in a greased 9X( or round pan.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.  When the rolls have risen to twice their size, bake at 350 degrees for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown.

The Bread Basket -- Parmesan Cheese Bread

I made this bread to go with the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup on Sunday. Big thumbs up from both Big Mama and Little Mouths.

Parmesan Cheese Bread

3 ¾ cup bread flour
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Tablespoon Yeast
½ tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cup Water
Olive Oil to coat

Reserve ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese and place the rest of the ingredients except olive oil in mixer bowl. Stir together until moistened then knead with bread hook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from bowl and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes. Allow to raise for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size. Divide into 12 rolls, brush with olive oil and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of grated cheese on top.

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then decrease temperature for 350 for an additional 10-15 minutes, until browned and yummy.

Enjoy!

Gimme' some bread!

I LOVE bread.  There is nothing more basic.  Nor full of preservatives.  The first stop on this journey to eat well, I examined the amount of preprocessed foods in our diet and I made sure we have at least one meal a day that is created by my hands doing more than opening a box.  We are doing well with that, all things considered, with two busy kids and a full time job.  I'm proud of the progress we've made.

This year, we are taking another step in joining a CSA where we will be adding fresh, local, organic fruits and veggies to our meals.  But there is one place where I've had blinders on, and that's bread.

I mean, did we really think anything could be healthy if it could keep without molding for more than a month?  When I was a kid, bread molded.  I just took a partial package of forgotten hot dog buns out of my bread drawer.  We used the first half OVER A MONTH AGO and the rest of the package still looked pretty good.  Amazing, but also, scary. 

What are all of those preservatives doing to my Little Mouths insides?  I'm not sure.  Maybe nothing, and unfortunately, I don't have the time to make sure every morsel that goes into their little mouths is free of everything that may not be good for them.  I'd love to grow and grind the wheat...okay, so I wouldn't but you know what I mean. 

As an alternative I dusted off my bread maker, yes, I still had it from a gazillion years ago in the garage, and made my very first attempt at making my own bread...well rolls.  Aren't they pretty?

Well, okay.  So they're not too pretty.  But they do taste good!
Thumbs up from Big Mama, but the little mouths aren't so sure about the whole wheat part.  They are a little "nuttier" than they are used to.  I think next time I will use only 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 2 1/2 cups bread flour and work them up to these...

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
(I made 5 into hotdog buns to use with chicken sausages this week)

1 cup water

1 egg
2 cups Bread flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons bread machine (Has to say "Rapid Rise")yeast
1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted



1.  Add all ingredients except butter to bread machine per manufacturer's instuctions.
2. Set bread machine to the "dough" setting.
3. Remove from bread machine and knead a bit with some flour on your counter or other clean surface
4. Divide dough into rolls.  I was having trouble getting the sizes to be the same so I used my kitchen scale.  I made the rolls 1 oz and the hotdog buns 2 oz.
5. Place in 9 X 13 baking dish
6. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until they have doubled their size.
7.  Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes untill browned.