This week brought my first-ever attempt at making homemade bread. My friend Jen has been raving about “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” and she promised it was easy, so I had to try it. My book is slightly different in that it has whole grain recipes, some with gluten-free ingredients, etc. The first step was to try the master recipe. Here we go!
Whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour (unbleached), granulated yeast, kosher salt, vital wheat gluten. All the dry ingredients ready to be mixed.
4 cups of lukewarm water
Stir, but don’t knead! It’s not necessary. Just mix everything, cover with a lid, and allow dough to rise for 2 hours.
Almost ready for the oven! Pull off a piece of dough and shape it within 20-40 seconds (to prevent sticking). Allow the loaf to rest for 40-90 minutes.
Bake for 30 minutes and…voila! Yummy, warm, fresh homemade bread!
As you can see, it takes much longer than five minutes, and it took an extra long time since I did everything in one day. It was worth it though, and I was surprised and happy with the first attempt. Best of all, the family approved! Nice.:) I still have enough for about 3-4 more loaves, and that will take much less time. It will be nice to whip up a loaf in the fall when the weather has a little nip in the air. I tend to bake a lot more during the winter months. Thanks Jen, you were right!:)
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