Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Bubbles!

I've been trying for a long time to make the kind of bread I would want to eat. I've made some really brick-like loaves of dense, gross bread. I've also made some greasy heavy bread that tastes delicious, but will make you sick. I really wanted my bread to have giant air bubbles that toast up so nicely and hold butter so well.
Dana came to the rescue with this recipe. She sent it to me ages ago, but I didn't try it until last night. I love it. Bubbly success!

You start it about 20 hours before you bake it which seems like a pain, but really, this recipe is very hands-off. You mix up the ingredients, then let it sit for 18 hours. No kneading, no stirring, no rising in a warm oven, no nothing. Then you form it into a loaf and stick it in a cast iron pot (or a dutch oven or anything with a lid) and bake it for 45 minutes. Easy peasy. And delicious. Almost immediately after I cut into this and saw all the beautiful bubbles I started a second loaf. I added garlic, rosemary, and thyme to that loaf, so we'll see how this recipe does with some fiddling. The dough smells great, so cross your fingers. It'll be put in the oven in another 2 hours.

4 comments:

katie o. said...

Mmmmm! Your bread loaf looks really great! Now make up a nice pot of spaghetti and you'll have the perfect meal!

Anonymous said...

I expect to eat some of that good looking bread next week.

Anonymous said...

The bread looks great! I have yet to try the no-knead recipe. I long for the days when I'll have time to bake more again.

Anonymous said...

Oh Boy! This is more nutritious than cake and doesn't seem so sinful!! I'll tell you how it comes out. If you can put peanut butter and honey on it Doug will eat anything. Look at all the nice holes for the honey to soak into.
Yum!