Several people, including me, were recently inspired by Cornflower's post about making bread the easy way. Finding a pouch of yeast in the cupboard that was actually within its 'use by' date, I dug out a bowl and the other ingredients on Friday. The appealing feature with this recipe is that you should leave the dough to sit under cling film for 12 to 18 hours to do its thing. This recipe is also quite forgiving as we've had a bit of a cold spell and the house got quite chilly that night. Saturday morning found me staring at a gooey blob that didn't look all that different from the night before. 'The yeast has died' I said to R. Not wanting to declare defeat just yet, I searched the house for a warm spot that was safe from Deacon's curiousity. The perfect spot was on top of the chest-of-drawers in my bedroom all sunny and warm. Perfect! My revised plan was to bake the loaf after dinner but we decided to go to the theatre to see An Education (fabulous film!). I could always bake it when we got home....right? When we got home I was too tired so the bowl of dough, which had actually come alive, was left overnight. Bright and early this morning, I carried my mixing bowl of bubbly dough downstairs and fired up the oven. The house was soon filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread and R asked if it would be piggish to have a third slice. That's the best sort of recommendation for this recipe. It could have used a bit more salt so I'll be mixing up another batch tonight...solely for research and quality control purposes. And this time I hope to have it in the oven before Tuesday!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Fresh Bread
Several people, including me, were recently inspired by Cornflower's post about making bread the easy way. Finding a pouch of yeast in the cupboard that was actually within its 'use by' date, I dug out a bowl and the other ingredients on Friday. The appealing feature with this recipe is that you should leave the dough to sit under cling film for 12 to 18 hours to do its thing. This recipe is also quite forgiving as we've had a bit of a cold spell and the house got quite chilly that night. Saturday morning found me staring at a gooey blob that didn't look all that different from the night before. 'The yeast has died' I said to R. Not wanting to declare defeat just yet, I searched the house for a warm spot that was safe from Deacon's curiousity. The perfect spot was on top of the chest-of-drawers in my bedroom all sunny and warm. Perfect! My revised plan was to bake the loaf after dinner but we decided to go to the theatre to see An Education (fabulous film!). I could always bake it when we got home....right? When we got home I was too tired so the bowl of dough, which had actually come alive, was left overnight. Bright and early this morning, I carried my mixing bowl of bubbly dough downstairs and fired up the oven. The house was soon filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread and R asked if it would be piggish to have a third slice. That's the best sort of recommendation for this recipe. It could have used a bit more salt so I'll be mixing up another batch tonight...solely for research and quality control purposes. And this time I hope to have it in the oven before Tuesday!
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I missed Cornflower's original post but I'd like to try this. Love the thought of freshly baked bread made by moi. Yours looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteHello Darlene, I have been making this bread for the family for the last five years. It is quite divine and we rarely buy store bread now. Also is so incredibly quick and easy - achievable even though I now have two very small children.
ReplyDeleteI think I must be the only remaining blogger who hasn't tried no knead bread! Must get busy, as that loaf looks fabulous! K x
ReplyDeleteImpressive - I've not tried no knead bread, but then I have "no need" (!) as we have a bread machine! I think it sounds like fun to be able to do your own, but I'm too lazy, even without needing to knead it!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed An education - that doesn't surprise me!
Very impressive!
ReplyDeleteSuch perseverance! I can almost smell the bread from here...
ReplyDeleteThat bread looks lovely, and I agree with the above comment - I can almost smell it! So glad you enjoyed An Education - I thought it was marvelous.
ReplyDeleteVintage Reading, I did find the 'good pinch of salt' to be far too little. If you do attempt this then bump the salt up to at least one teaspoon. Your loved ones will be impressed!
ReplyDeleteMerenia, I used to bake two loaves every other day when my daughter was small. At a restaurant a couple of years ago, a freshly baked loaf was brought to our table and my daughter sighed 'This tastes like my childhood'. So you never really know just what is making an impression...your little ones will probably be the same!
Kristina, Absolutely! I'd love to use it to make French Toast with...delicious!
Verity, We laughed last night when we heard that An Education is coming out on DVD tomorrow!
Hannah, Well thank you!
JoAnn, A second loaf came out a short while ago and oh my goodness, this could become a habit! The house does smell wonderful.
skirmishofwit, We couldn't decide whether to see Alice in Wonderland or An Education and then I remembered your post. So thanks for your recommendation, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening!
Okay, I'm willing to try it, though it breaks ALL bread making conventions (double rising, kneading, letting the yeast grow in warm sugar water for 10 minutes before adding). And clearly not an instan gratification thing, since it sits around for a day before you can bake it. But I'm always happy to try something that demands third helpings.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I admit that with my second batch I added some sugar to the water and let the yeast soak a bit...shhhh, don't tell anyone.
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy and very perfect to me! I've always thought it would be cool to learn how to bake bread from scratch but have been too afraid to try (I'm a pretty awful cook...). I will have to check out Cornflower's original post as well, but you both always have such perfect looking creations I think there may be no hope for me. I think I might fit better in the 'can I have a third slice' category! :)
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