Fresh Bread Sans Fuss

There is something very satisfying about walking down the hall in my apartment building and thinking "Mmmmmmmm, that smells amazing. Oh wait! That's my apartment!" Delightful.

Oh, and there's no kneading. While I sometimes occupy the role of that annoying girl prattling on about how long, complicated cooking at the end of the day actually relaxes me and gee, what's wrong with a mountain of chopping, I do understand that sometimes it's nice to have something that does not require upper body strength.

This particular new(ish) bread making method seems to have taken the internet by storm and you can find variations on it pretty much everywhere. I happened to want to make something with rosemary and garlic, but you can substitute just about any herbs or cheese or fruit. Go crazy. Yes, baking is a precise pursuit, generally, but sometimes you are allowed to just throw some raisins in there and hope for the best. This is one of those times.



Rosemary Garlic Artisan Bread
makes 2-3 loaves

2 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon granulated fast acting yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 tsp rosemary
4-1/4 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour *

Mixing and Storing the Dough

1. Warm the water slightly (to about 100 degrees). Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours.

2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a large bowl or a plastic container with a lid.

3. Mix in the flour (by hand or machine, matters not), no kneading. Add all of the flour at once. Mix with a wooden spoon - still no kneading. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. This step takes precious little time. The dough should be wet and loose.

4. Allow to rise. Cover with a lid (not airtight!!!). You want the gases to be able to escape a little. You can also do this in a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and puncture a small hole in the top. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse or flatten on top, about two hours. Longer rising times will not hurt your dough and you can use a portion of the dough any time after this. Cold dough is easier to work with, so I suggest you refrigerate overnight or for several hours before shaping.

Baking

5. Shape your loaf. Pull about a 1 lb (grapefruit sized) chunk of dough. You want to pull the outside of the dough fairly tight, creating a smooth surface on top (the bottom can be a wreck if it has to, no one cares. If your hands are sticking, dust the outside of the loaf with flour.

6. Let the loaf rise for about 30 - 40 minutes (it does not need to be covered). If it doesn't look like it has risen much, worry not - it will in the oven.

7. If you have a baking stone, preheat it on the middle rack in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees F (if you don't have a stone, a baking sheet will do just fine). Place an empty rimmed baking pan or broiler pan on a rack below the baking stone. This pan is for holding water for steam in the baking step.

8. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a (very sharp) knife. This slashing is necessary to release some of the trapped gas, which can deform your bread and it (bonus!) makes the top of your bread pretty. Do this right before baking.

9. Bake. Set a cup of water next to your oven. Slide the bread (including the parchment paper) right onto the hot baking stone. Quickly pour the water right into the pan underneath the baking stone and close the oven door. This creates the necessary steam to make a nice crisp crust on the bread. Bake at 450 F for about 25 - 30 minutes. When you remove the loaf from the oven, you will hear it crackle for a while.

10. Cool. Allow the bread to cool for the best flavor and texture. I'm not capable of waiting, but I will admit that the texture is better after the bread has cooled.

11. Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight!) container and use for up to 14 days. Every day your bread will improve in flavor.