Beautiful bread!I recently realized I've never posted the recipe that was the start of this whole baking thread. So here you go, along with some photos...
Master Boule Recipe
(Makes 3 loaves)
3 Cups lukewarm water (about 100*)
1 1/2 Tab. granulated yeast
1 1/2 Tab. Kosher salt
6 1/2 - 7 Cups AP flour
In a 5 qt. plastic food container (with a lid that is NOT air tight), add yeast and salt to the water. Don't worry about dissolving all the yeast in the water. As you can see by the following photo, my container is larger but it's the one I have so it works.
Mix in the flour all at once, kneading is unnecessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist without dry patches, shouldn't take more than a few minutes. The dough will be very wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the container:
Cover with the lid (make sure it is not air-tight). Allow to rise at room temp until it begins to collapse or about 2 hours. Longer rise times up to about 5 hours will not harm the result. This next photo shows the dough after a 2 hour rise:
You could use the dough at this point but it will be one very wet, messy dough to work with. It's much easier to work with if you stick the dough in the refrigerator at this point and leave it overnight. This is what the dough will look like in the container the next day:
When you're ready to bake a loaf, prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and liberally sprinkle with corn meal. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and flour your hands (this is about to get a bit messy). Grab a large handful of dough about the size of a large grapefruit (might need to add more flour to your hands again). Gently stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go, this tightens the surface of the dough and while the bottom of the dough ball might look pretty bunched up, that will flatten out as the bread bakes. The dough ball should be smooth and the shaping shouldn't take more than about 30-60 seconds to shape. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Store the remaining dough back in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.
Allow the uncovered loaf to rest at room temp for 20 minutes.
Put a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven and put a pan on the rack below the stone.
When the timer goes off, set it for another 20 minutes and turn the oven on to 450*. Get water for the pan under the stone to boiling.
By this point the dough has finished rising for a total of 40 minutes, the oven is ready and the water is boiling. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour and slash with a sharp knife:
Pour the boiling water into the pan under the baking stone and very carefully slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto the stone. Bake about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 190-195*. The loaf should be browned and firm to the touch. Sometimes you can even hear the bread crackle when it's initially removed from the hot oven into the room temperature. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Once you slice into it, you can keep your bread fresh without softening the crunchy crust by turning it cut side down on a cutting board uncovered. Putting it into a plastic bag or container will make the chewy crust soft.
Note: This bread recipe took a LOT of practice. Don't give up if it doesn't turn out great-looking on your first try. You'll know you're getting good at it when you only mess up 1 out of 3 loaves, lol. But seriously, this is wonderful bread and once you get the shaping technique down, it's so simple to make a fresh loaf because you already have dough in the fridge. This is my husband's #1 favorite bread, homemade or store-bought!
I recently realized I've never posted the recipe that was the start of this whole baking thread. So here you go, along with some photos... Master Boule Recipe (Makes 3 loaves) 3 Cups lukewarm water (about 100*) 1 1/2 Tab. granulated yeast 1 1/2 Tab. Kosher salt 6 1/2 - 7 Cups AP flour In a 5 qt. plastic food container (with a lid that is NOT air tight), add yeast and salt to the water. Don't worry about dissolving all the yeast in the water. As you can see by the following photo, my container is larger but it's the one I have so it works. Mix in the flour all at once, kneading is unnecessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist without dry patches, shouldn't take more than a few minutes. The dough will be very wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the container:Cover with the lid (make sure it is not air-tight). Allow to rise at room temp until it begins to collapse or about 2 hours. Longer rise times up to about 5 hours will not harm the result. This next photo shows the dough after a 2 hour rise:
You could use the dough at this point but it will be one very wet, messy dough to work with. It's much easier to work with if you stick the dough in the refrigerator at this point and leave it overnight. This is what the dough will look like in the container the next day:
When you're ready to bake a loaf, prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and liberally sprinkle with corn meal. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and flour your hands (this is about to get a bit messy). Grab a large handful of dough about the size of a large grapefruit (might need to add more flour to your hands again). Gently stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go, this tightens the surface of the dough and while the bottom of the dough ball might look pretty bunched up, that will flatten out as the bread bakes. The dough ball should be smooth and the shaping shouldn't take more than about 30-60 seconds to shape. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Store the remaining dough back in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.
Allow the uncovered loaf to rest at room temp for 20 minutes. Put a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven and put a pan on the rack below the stone. When the timer goes off, set it for another 20 minutes and turn the oven on to 450*. Get water for the pan under the stone to boiling. By this point the dough has finished rising for a total of 40 minutes, the oven is ready and the water is boiling. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour and slash with a sharp knife:
Pour the boiling water into the pan under the baking stone and very carefully slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto the stone. Bake about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 190-195*. The loaf should be browned and firm to the touch. Sometimes you can even hear the bread crackle when it's initially removed from the hot oven into the room temperature. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Once you slice into it, you can keep your bread fresh without softening the crunchy crust by turning it cut side down on a cutting board uncovered. Putting it into a plastic bag or container will make the chewy crust soft. Note: This bread recipe took a LOT of practice. Don't give up if it doesn't turn out great-looking on your first try. You'll know you're getting good at it when you only mess up 1 out of 3 loaves, lol. But seriously, this is wonderful bread and once you get the shaping technique down, it's so simple to make a fresh loaf because you already have dough in the fridge. This is my husband's #1 favorite bread, homemade or store-bought!
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I baked at work yesterday! I have an Oster convection toaster oven in my office and some 9x13 inch pans fit in it. I cooked King Arthur fudge brownies--They were gone by the afternoon!I'm baking today, for the first time in absolute ages. I'm using a modified version of this recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/
Instead of baking powder and all-purpose flour, I use self-raise flour. I added an extra egg and left out the vanilla.
ETA: It turned out very nice! I doubled the original recipe amounts and got 3 smallish loaves.
I work at the University of California at Davis so our building has no kitchen--or even many sinks! I do most of the prep at home. Our floor is closed off to the rest of the building which concentrates the cooking smell too.I'll bet you are much loved at work @ronott1I used to bake at work quite a bit, as I worked in a few restaurants. It's fun, but it's much nicer (and less stressful) when you do it at home.
This looks fantastic! Def gonna have to try it!I recently realized I've never posted the recipe that was the start of this whole baking thread. So here you go, along with some photos...
Master Boule Recipe
(Makes 3 loaves)
3 Cups lukewarm water (about 100*)
1 1/2 Tab. granulated yeast
1 1/2 Tab. Kosher salt
6 1/2 - 7 Cups AP flour
In a 5 qt. plastic food container (with a lid that is NOT air tight), add yeast and salt to the water. Don't worry about dissolving all the yeast in the water. As you can see by the following photo, my container is larger but it's the one I have so it works.
Mix in the flour all at once, kneading is unnecessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist without dry patches, shouldn't take more than a few minutes. The dough will be very wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the container:
Cover with the lid (make sure it is not air-tight). Allow to rise at room temp until it begins to collapse or about 2 hours. Longer rise times up to about 5 hours will not harm the result. This next photo shows the dough after a 2 hour rise:
You could use the dough at this point but it will be one very wet, messy dough to work with. It's much easier to work with if you stick the dough in the refrigerator at this point and leave it overnight. This is what the dough will look like in the container the next day:
When you're ready to bake a loaf, prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and liberally sprinkle with corn meal. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and flour your hands (this is about to get a bit messy). Grab a large handful of dough about the size of a large grapefruit (might need to add more flour to your hands again). Gently stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go, this tightens the surface of the dough and while the bottom of the dough ball might look pretty bunched up, that will flatten out as the bread bakes. The dough ball should be smooth and the shaping shouldn't take more than about 30-60 seconds to shape. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Store the remaining dough back in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.
Allow the uncovered loaf to rest at room temp for 20 minutes.
Put a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven and put a pan on the rack below the stone.
When the timer goes off, set it for another 20 minutes and turn the oven on to 450*. Get water for the pan under the stone to boiling.
By this point the dough has finished rising for a total of 40 minutes, the oven is ready and the water is boiling. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour and slash with a sharp knife:
Pour the boiling water into the pan under the baking stone and very carefully slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto the stone. Bake about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 190-195*. The loaf should be browned and firm to the touch. Sometimes you can even hear the bread crackle when it's initially removed from the hot oven into the room temperature. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Once you slice into it, you can keep your bread fresh without softening the crunchy crust by turning it cut side down on a cutting board uncovered. Putting it into a plastic bag or container will make the chewy crust soft.
Note: This bread recipe took a LOT of practice. Don't give up if it doesn't turn out great-looking on your first try. You'll know you're getting good at it when you only mess up 1 out of 3 loaves, lol. But seriously, this is wonderful bread and once you get the shaping technique down, it's so simple to make a fresh loaf because you already have dough in the fridge. This is my husband's #1 favorite bread, homemade or store-bought!
