Goal 8: Bread - Truly Easy No Knead Bread

Goal #8: Learn to Make Bread!!

This is the bread I learned to make this weekend. My very first loaf of homemade bread - and it's good! It's cheap, it's incredibly easy, and it's tasty!

I had this image of working out frustrations kneading bread dough. Romantic ideas, even, about how it would transfer to love in the bread making process. That was not to be.  At least not this time. But that's because this bread was so easy to make. Easier to make than chocolate chip cookies. By far.

For those of you paying attention to my 40 before 40 list - I'm not crossing this one off quite yet. I have bread ambitions yet before I'd feel ready to cross this off the list. I'd like to conquer kneaded bread at the very least!

But for now - I'm feeling like I'm off to a grand start!  





Ingredients: 
1 1/2 Cup Water
3 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast. 

Step 1: Mix Dry ingredients (flour, salt, yeast). 

Step 2: Add water & mix.

Congratulations - you now have bread dough! Even if it doesn't look like much at this stage.

Step 3: Cover with saran wrap and let sit 12-18 hours. This is easily done by making it in the evening and letting the dough rise overnight. As the dough takes almost no time, this should be fairly doable to do regularly!

You'll know the dough is ready when it's doubled in size and has little air bubbles. Success!

Step 4: On a well floured surface, form the dough into a ball.

This was much easier than it sounds. I was having some bread making fears bubble up at this stage, but really - transferring the dough from the bowl to the floured surface was almost all it took to get the dough into a ball form. It basically fell into formation!

Step 5: Cover with the saran wrap again, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
After the oven is warmed, put the cast iron (or clay pot) into the oven to warm it. I let mine warm about 15-20 minutes to be sure it was good and hot.

Step 6:  Put the dough ball into the oven warmed dutch oven, cast iron pot, bread making vehicle of your choice - and cover. Bake for 30 minutes.

Step 7: Take off the lid and bake another 15 minutes.

Eh, Voila!! You have delicious, fabulous bread!!

Here's the hardest part! You have to wait until the bread is "quiet" before cutting into it! You can hear it crackling as it settles. Which is pretty fabulous.

 Enjoy!!