Easy bread

This bread is so simple and easy to make! I've made bread a few times before and this is definitely a great recipe.

All you gotta do is:

Grab a very large mixing bowl, or a large container that you can cover. In it, mix the water, yeast, and salt. You don’t even have to heat up the water to a precise optimal temperature for the yeast. I’ve even used just regular tap water, and it’s worked well for me. Just let that sit together for a while (you don’t have to wait for the yeast to dissolve completely), then dump the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon. You don’t need to knead this, and you’re not looking to make it come together into a dough ball. You just want everything mixed well, with no streaks of flour left, and you’re done.

Leave it in your container, covered (but not airtight, or it’ll pop), for a few hours. When it has risen and then deflated a bit, your dough is done. It’s ready to be used or stored in the refrigerator.

After twenty minutes of preheating, it’s time to bake. (You can put the bread in after 20 minutes, even if your oven hasn’t reached 225°C degrees yet.) Slide the loaf onto the baking stone, and then quickly (and CAREFULLY) pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan. Then quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam inside.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until you get a nice brown crust. The crust will crackle and pop and make all sorts of happy noises as it sits on a wire rack to cool. It tastes best when you let it cool completely. Don’t worry if your beautiful crust seems to soften a bit. It will harden again, I promise.

Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake, put a pizza stone in the middle rack of your oven (I didn't use a pizza stone), and put a broiler pan in the bottom rack. Preheat your oven to 225°C degrees. Dust some flour on the top of your loaf, and make your pretty slashes, about 1/4-inch deep. You can do a simple ‘x’ across it, a tic-tac-toe grid.

After twenty minutes of preheating it's time to bake. (You can put the bread in after 20 minutes, even if the oven hasn't reached 225°C yet.) Slide the loaf onto the baking stone (I didn't use one) and quickly pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan. Then quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam inside.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until you get a nice brown crust. It tastes best when you let it cool completely. Don't worry if the crust seems to soften a bit, it will harden again.

Easy Bread:

3 cups of lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

I used all my dough the same day but I bet it tastes even better if you age the dough a little in the fridge. I also used whole wheat flour for some of the amount of flour.

For more pictures and original source go to: The Ivory Hut