bread!

yeah i'm gonna count this as a craft.

so i've never really made bread by hand. i've made bread machine bread, but so could blind thumbless monkeys.

the recipe is at the bottom of this post and i forgot to say i did add:

1 t of minced garlic
1T pizza seasoning

here is the evidence:

this is apparently called the starter or sponge

here it is after an hour- notice the bubblyness oh and this has to sit out over night for some reason. make sure you cover it in plastic though...

Day 2: this is with the rest of the ingredients minus 3/4 cup of flour

i made a mess. this is right before kneading. no kneading pictures because i'm certain roomie wouldn't appreciate a gooey floury mess on his camera.

here it is in it's greased up bowl ready to rise. oh it's 9:00 am.

cover it up with plastic though.

it's 9:30, dough has risen a little.

it's 10:00, dough has risen more.
oh crap! it's huge!!! and it's 10:30.

this is the thing they told you to put it in so it would rise up not out ---->couche

so i dumped the dough out, it was really bubbly before i did so, and i cut it in half with a wet knife. the knife was wet to keep it from sticking to the dough.

so i moved it onto the baking stone and sliced it.

what you can't see in this picture is an ugly skillet half full of water to 'steam' the bread.
i don't think it did anything though...

oh shit, where's the bread?

duh, it's in the oven!

so here it is in its' piping hot goodness.
the entire house smelled wonderful!

so it didn't really rise, but i don't care.

it tasted hella good! mmmmm melted butter...

here's the recipe:

French Style Country Bread

Sponge Starter (Begin 2 to 16 hours ahead)
1 cup (8 ounces) cool to lukewarm water, preferably spring water (90 to 100°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
1 1/4 cups (6 3/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) King Arthur White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour

Dough
All of the sponge starter (above)
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water, preferably spring water (l00 to 115°F)
3/4 teaspoon active dry or 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 3/4 to 4 cups (1 pound to 1 pound 1 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

To Make The Sponge: Stir all of the sponge ingredients together to make a thick, pudding-like mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on a counter overnight or for at least 2 to 4 hours. If you're making this in a bread machine, place the sponge ingredients inside, and turn the machine on for just a few seconds to mix the ingredients together. Turn the machine off and close the cover. Let the sponge rest for 4 hours or overnight (anywhere between 2 and 16 hours is fine, the longer the better).

To Make The Dough: Stir down the sponge with a spoon and add the water, yeast, sugar, most of the flour (hold back about 1/2 cup to use if required), and salt. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, to make a soft dough, 10 to 12 minutes.

Note: You may also do this in your bread machine, using the Dough or Manual setting. After the dough has finished kneading, place it in a lightly greased bowl, and continue as directed below.
(but that's for wusses)

Big Tip: Mix ingredients together using up to 80% of the flour called for: it will be a loose, messy mass. Let the dough rest for 12 minutes, and you'll see it change in texture, to be come much smoother. Continue, kneading and adding additional flour as required. Overall, the dough handles better once its had time for the flour to absorb the water while resting and relaxing. By using this method, you'll tend to add less flour, and have much bigger holes in your finished bread.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or plastic container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and a damp towel, and let it rise until almost doubled (depending on the weather, this could be l to 2 hours). If you're going out, or if you prefer, let the dough rise slowly in the fridge. If your dough has been refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature; it'll warm up and rise at the same time. After its first rise, deflate the dough gently, but don't knock out all the air; this will create those "holes" so important to French bread. Form the dough into a round ball. Place two cookie sheets atop one another, and place a semolina- or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment paper on top. Gently place the ball of dough on the cookie sheets, seam-side down. Cover it lightly with a tea towel, and let it rise the second time until it's puffy and about 40% to 50% larger, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes (depending on the weather, luck, and magic). Slash or cross-hatch the bread with a sharp knife or lame. Dust it with a little flour.


Preheat your grill to High. Place the bread (on the doubled-up cookie sheets) on the grill, and close the cover. Immediately reduce the heat to Medium (400°F), and allow the bread to bake for 25 minutes, or until it's well-browned. Reduce the heat to Low, and carefully place the bread directly on the grill. Continue to bake until completely done, about 5 minutes.

apparently you can grill bread...

For Regular (Oven) Baking: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Slash the bread, spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister, and place the bread in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and spritz with water every few minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking. Bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it tests done. Yield: 1 large round bread or two medium breads, 10 to 12 servings.

thank you King Arthur Flour