This is, um, excellent. What can I say. It reminds me of Ciabatta--large holes, slightly chewy, and a crusty crust. It's wonderful, and the 12 hour "sit/rise" time allows amino acids to break down more, so the flavor isn't flat. You must try it. I made it this morning again with my sister, and we both agreed: bread that's easier to mix than a cake and a pie crust is a winner.
Bake the bread winner. You won't be sorry.
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The Miracle Boule
Laura Calder's recipe for good bread, this is taken directly from the Cooking Channel's library. This method is almost exactly like the no-knead bread recipe that Zoe Francois demystifies in her book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, except this one gets mixed a day ahead, which is another versatile option for all of us and our busy schedules. So, if you want bread tonight, look up Zoe Francois' recipe, if you need bread for your dinner party, do this one. Enjoy. Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1/1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- Cornmeal, wheat bran or extra flour
Directions
- Mix the flour, salt & yeast in a bowl. Sstir in 1 1/2 cups water to blend. The dough will be sticky; this is fine. Cover the bowl with a towel or unsecured/loose lid (gasses need to escape) and let rest in a warm place for 12 hours or more. It's ready for the next step when the surface is dotted with bubbles.
- Flour a work surface and dump the dough out onto it. Sprinkle over a little more flour and fold it once or twice. Cover with the tea towel and let rest 15 minutes. Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, shape the dough into a ball. Coat a cotton towel with cornmeal, wheat bran or flour and lay the dough on it, seam-side down. Dust with more cornmeal, wheat bran or flour. (You need quite a lot because you want to be sure the dough doesn't stick to the towel). Cover and let rise for about 2 hours. When ready, the dough will be more than double in size.
- Half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C. Put a 2-liter cast-iron pot or Dutch oven (cocotte) inside to heat.
- When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven and turn the dough into it, seam-side up. (It will look messy, but this is OK.) Shake the pot to settle the bread evenly. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the loaf is nicely browned, another 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.
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