Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Easy bread !

Here's a great video with Mark Bittman and a recipe for easy bread for any one wanting to start baking.
Well worth watching.
The base recipe;

3 Cups AP flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Mix dry ingredients
Add 1 1/2 cups water
rest 12 hours.

If you watch the video closely you will notice that they are using Le Creuset enameled cast iron pots. One is much older with out the newer style black knob. If you have one of the newer
Le Creuset pots the lid knobs will not stand up to the temps in this recipe. In the video you can see the baker has removed the knob for this recipe and replaced it with a knob of aluminum foil pushed up from the bottom. I have not tried it myself but I have been told metal drawer knobs will fit and work well as a replacement for the new factory Le Creuset knobs.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU

Stetson,

I've seen this done b4. The key is the ceramic/iron cooking pot and the humidity.

One Question though: Does the bread rise in the frig or on the counter??

We do this about twice a week but use the Magic Chef Stone Ware.

The only part that sucks, is the one hour cool down before you tie into it.

If you follow the 12 hour time they use then the bread rises on the counter. If you do not want to cook until the next day you can put the dough in the fridge to slow down the process.
I've got a batch going and I believe you are correct with the pot and the humidity. They way they are achieving that is by getting those pots up to temp before the dough goes in.

You have hit the nail on the head, with the getting the temp up on the head with the pre-heating. By the way, we do the sprinkle on varying some times with sesame seeds rosemary and one or two others that escapes me.

I suggest that anyone who likes good bread try this. It sure beats the heck out of any store bought you can buy. (one of them is ginger).

O.K. now that summer is coming it's going to be way too hot to cook indoors with a 500 degree oven. So, the logical next step is to try this method with a dutch oven and charcoal in the great outdoors. The question: can you get up to 500 degrees this way? I'm guessing yes. Might be more difficult as it will be tougher to control temp. I'm an experimental baker at best so what the heck.

Mixed up a batch of dough an hour ago. Will bake in the oven tomorrow night.

I let mine rest about ten hours yesterday. It came out with a great texture. It really is amazing just how simple or complex a few ingredients can be. When I was done I did have to scrub my Le Creuset with bar keepers friend but that's easy enough.
The only down side? Now I need to run up to the outlet mall at Birch Run and shop for a couple of Le Creuset rounds (I have oval) so I can do two loafs at once!
For other recipes check out the King Arthur flour site. The Baguette recipe is great but not super easy like the Bittman/NY Times bread.


http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes2008/

We are the proud owners/users of Le Creuset. I have to tell you that using this stone wear, makes for a no clean up utensil.

I have not tried the 10 hour thing, but I sure will give it a go.

I wonder if it will work with gluten free bread. If someone has a gluten free recipe could you share it.

Try here.

Thanks so much.
Denny

wonder if that would work with a standard cast iron dutch oven?

Yes, it does. That's what I use.

Absolutely! I've done it several times using Ceramic Cooker's like the Primo Oval or Big Green Egg and an indirect setup like a plate setter. Makes the bread taste even better. I am sure you could do it with other outdoor cookers as well.

Thanks Sassy I am going to have to try it!

I want you all to think about having a little fun with this and give it a try. We did this yesterday, I woke up with this bead on my mind and when the coffee was ready I knew I had a winner.

ADD to the above enough ingredients Hershey's European style Dutch Processed COCOA to give a dark color to the dough and one teaspoon of cinnamon couple of hand fulls of raisins. Mix all together. Follow the rest of the directions. Toast your bread, butter well and have with your morning coffee, enjoy!

I took a different tact.....saw this thread last week and didn't think I'd want to wait so long to bake bread after mixing stuff so I went back to youtube and found all kinds of bread kneading info. So, I just did it the old fashioned way and I'm telling you all 3 loaves were outstanding!! Don't be afraid to knead the dough!! My first attempt at baking bread has led to more receipe hunting and baking. Great stuff!

Pulled pork, or brisket with homemade bread? SHUT UP!

I think Ill try this this summer while camping. Ill be using a ducth oven and Ill even try adding a handfull of Huckelberrys. Can't wait to try it....