Homemade Bread for Busy Moms

For a carb addict like me, it is very upsetting to move to a country that doesn’t have great bread selections.  There is one bakery in town known for having good bread, and I guess you could call it good if you had never tried fresh sourdough from Boudins in San Francisco or anything from the Great Harvest Bread Company in Vienna.  But I am spoiled.  I would call it the best around Tegucigalpa, but by no means anything to write home about.  So when we arrived here and I realized that there wasn’t going to be a plethora of options for bread, I was determined to find a way to be able to consistently make fresh homemade bread for my family, without spending a whole weekend day in the kitchen.  I consulted my BFF Google, who told me that yes, there was a way!  (A few, actually)

The first recipe I tried was from one of my favorite food blogs, The Steamy Kitchen.  It was delicious, and very easy, but did require quite a bit of planning ahead.  Not ideal when you are running in a million different directions, and have a hard time focusing and remembering things like pay the cable bill, much less start tomorrow’s bread today.  Back to Google.  I found the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and it was game over.  It is same concept and basically the same as the first recipe I tried, just made in a larger batch to be kept in the fridge until you want to make a loaf of bread.  SO easy.  You mix up your dough in a large container, let is sit out on the counter for a while, then throw it in the fridge.  Then when you decide you want a loaf of bread, you tear off a piece of the dough from the fridge, preheat the oven, and bake your bread.  Done.  The recipe makes enough for 4 or 5 small loaves, so if you mix up a batch on the weekend, it will last you all week.  I have been making this bread regularly for over a year now.  I am really not good about exact measurements, because I usually have a 2 year old in charge of the cup measure, and it has always come out perfectly.  If you have ever wanted to make bread, but thought it would be hard and complicated, this recipe is for you!

The ingredients are so simple:

-6 1/2 cups of flour
-3 cups of water
-1 1/2 tablespoons of Yeast
-1 1/2 tablespoons of Kosher salt

Mix the water, yeast and salt in a large bucket with a lid. (I use this 6-Quart Round Container with Lid)
Stir in the flour and mix just until all of the flour is incorporated  This won’t take long.

After you mix everything together, you will have a wet gloopy (is gloopy a word?) mess.  (Left)  Put the top on the bucket, but do not seal it, and let it sit out on the counter for a few hours.  Sometimes I even leave it out overnight.  The dough should rise almost up to the top of the bucket.  (Center)  Then you just put the dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.  After it has been in the fridge it will collapse, and won’t ever rise up nicely again.  That’s ok.  (Right)

When you are ready to make a loaf of bread, preheat your oven to 450° with a covered heavy pot of some sort in the oven.  I have used a covered Pyrex, a covered cast iron skillet, and a Le Creuset Dutch Oven.  (I think it comes out best in the Le Creuset)  Sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough in your bucket, and tear off a chunk.  Pull the sides of the dough and tuck them under the ball of dough so that it is nice and smooth.  Set it on a lightly floured pizza peel or Silpat mat.  Make a few diagonal cuts across the top of the bread.  (I don’t know if this really serves a purpose other than to make it look nice.  Sometimes I forget to do it and it still turns out just fine.)  Let it sit out and rest for about 45 minutes, while you are preheating your oven.  Slide your dough off of the pizza peel or other mat into your dutch oven.  Cover quickly and close the oven.

Let it bake, covered for 20 minutes.  Then remove the lid and let it bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.  The crust should be light brown and crisp.  Take it out and set it on a cutting board to cool.  Resist the urge to cut into it immediately.  (I usually can’t wait, and burn my fingers as I am cutting into it)

Once it has cooled a bit, it will be much easier to cut, and the crust will be crispy and delicious.

Perfect bread every time!