Artisan Bread in Just 5 Minutes a Day!

This method for this fantastic bread was created by Jeff Hertzberg, a physician from Minneapolis.  He provides a no knead concept and enables even the most noive baker to prepare delicious gourmet bread. If you have not tried your hand at making bread, or you are a bread baking diva and you want to induldge into a better method, you should check out this book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking.


The Master Recipe: Boule Bread

Adapted From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François
Yield = Four 1-pound loaves. Recipe can be doubled or halved

3 cups lukewarm water

1½ T. granulated yeasts (1½ packets)
1½ T. kosher or other coarse salt
6½ cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method

1. Warm the water slightly: It should feel a bit warmer than body temperature, about 100ºF.

2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a five-quart bowl, or preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket.

3. Mix in the flour: Add all of the flour at once, measuring it with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula; don’t press down into the flour as you scoop or you’ll throw off the measurement by compressing. Mix with a wooden spoon. If necessary, reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Do not knead, simply make sure all ingredients are uniformly moist, without any dry patches. Dough should be wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the container.

4. Allow to rise: Cover with a lid that fits well to the container you’re using. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapsfor at least 2 hours (or until it flattens on the top).  You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period, but fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and is easier to work with.
 
On the day you choose to bake your Artisan bread:

1. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size), using a serrated knife. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 to 60 seconds

2. Place the shaped ball on a cornmeal-covered pizza peel. (If you aren’t planning on baking the bread on a pizza stone, just let the dough rest on a cornmeal-covered cutting board. Allow the loaf (uncovered) to rest on the peel for about 40 minutes.


3. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450ºF, with a baking stone placed on the lowest rack. (If you don’t have a stone, don’t worry.) Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread. (This helps to make the crust crispy, but your bread will still be delish if you skip this step.)


4. Dust top of loaf with flour, this allows the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Make several ¼-inch-deep slashes across the bread. Note: If you skip this step, your bread will taste the same.

5. With a quick forward jerking motion of the wrist, slide the loaf off the pizza peel and onto the preheated stone. (Alternatively, grease a Pyrex dish or baking pan and place the bread in the pan.) Quickly but carefully pour about one cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely, preferably on a wire rack.