Baking Bread!!

It's Autumn here in Minnesota, that means I'm making lots of soups… it also means I'm back to baking bread again!!

I added some dried spices to my bread (I usually do), and by varying the spices you can come up with all sorts of wonderful flavor combinations - I like to make breads that compliment the soups I've been making...

I’ve been making Artisan Bread for a while, I got started using Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio, but have since diverged into my own way of doing things (I can never just leave things alone).  If you’re new to bread making I suggest this book as a starting point, he gives excellent information and advice.

My Artisan Bread:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (instructions based on my Kitchenaid model) place:

  20 oz (by weight) of Bread Flour

  2 tsp Salt

  Spices (optional) - use your imagination!!  The one shown has:

    Sweet Curry (about 2 tsp)

    Dried Orange Zest (about 1 tsp)

    Saffron (a couple pinches)

Mix these dry ingredients together then create a void in the middle as shown, carefully pour into this void:

  12 oz (by measure) of hot water - hot as you can get it from the tap

Sprinkle on top of the hot water...

  1 tsp Active Dry Yeast

…and allow the yeast to dissolve.

Put the stirring paddle attachment on the mixer and briefly mix the ingredients together on the lowest setting (mine says “Stir”), just long enough to blend (at most a minute).

Remove the stirring paddle, put the dough hook attachment on the mixer,cover the bowl with a towel, and let sit 1/2 hour.

After sitting for 1/2 hour, knead for 3 minutes on a low setting (I use “2”).

Turn the dough into a bowl with a sealing lid that has been sprayed with Olive Oil, spray the dough lightly with Olive Oil, seal the bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 1 hour in a warm (about 72 degrees F) location.

If the rise is going well its likely you'll hear a "pop" because the lid of your container has been popped open, simply press it back down and allow it to continue to rise - my loaf today popped the lid 3 times in 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board, gently press & fold it a bit, then form it into a loaf, once formed place the dough on parchment paper (for easier transfer later), cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 1 hours more in a warm location.

About 45 minutes before baking I placed a cooking stone in my oven in the center rack, and a cast iron pan on the rack below the stone.  I set the oven to 425 F and let everything heat up nicely.

Before baking score the top of the loaf with a knife, at this point I like to rub the top with just a little Olive Oil & sprinkle on a tiny bit of Sea Salt.

Baking: move the loaf onto the stone (this is where the parchment paper comes in real handy) by simply sliding the loaf with its parchment paper onto the stone.  Put 1 cup of water into the cast iron pan (adds steam to the oven) and close the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes then lower the temp (leave the door closed) to 375 F, bake for an additional 25 minutes.

After baking place the bread on a wire rack to cool, covered with a towel… it's tempting to cut into it right away, but let it sit a bit (it will be warm for a while).

When you're ready slice it up and enjoy!!  I like to store my bread at room temp in a large (gallon or 2 gallon) ziploc bag to keep it fresh.