Wheat Bread (90) and Rosemary Round Loaf (91)

I think that the coolest part of this journey, is the bread that I’ve made.  I have always been intimated to bake bread before but I have realized that it’s much easier than I ever expected.  Two recent accomplishments are this Rosemary Round Loaf and this Wheat Bread.

If you have never made bread before and are looking for a bread to try, start with this Wheat Bread Recipe.  I was initailly intimatidated by the steps so I’ve written a more condensed version.  The recipe is worth reading as it includes several helpful tips.

Ingredients:

▪                3 cups lukewarm water

▪                1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets)

▪                1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

▪                6-1/2 cups flour  (I used 4 cups All purpose flour and 2 ½ cups Wheat flour)

Directions:

1.  Combine water, yeast and salt in a bowl.  (I used my kitchen aid mixer bowl)  Let proof for 10 minutes.

2.  Add in the flour.  (I used my dough hook and mixed until all the flour was combined.)  You can also mix with a spoon.  The dough will be moist and all the flour will be integrated into the dough.  The dough will be very loose.

3.  The dough needs to rise.  I covered mine with a dish towel and let it rise for 2 hours.  I then refrigerated it until I needed to bake some bread for dinner.

4.  When I was ready to make a loaf of bread I took a section of dough that was about the size of a grapefruit.  I placed it on a piece of parchment paper on a plate.  I sprinkled it with fluor and let it rise another 30 minutes.

5.   While the bread is rising, preheat a baking stone.  (I don’t have a baking stone so I just used a round cookie sheet).  Set the oven to 450 degrees and let it preheat for 20 minutes.

6. Also place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven as well under the cookie sheet.  You will pour water into this pan and it will steam the bread while it cooks.

7.  Make 3-4 slices in the bread dough with a knife.

8.  Measure out 1 cup of water and place it beside the oven.  Put the parchment paper with the dough onto the baking sheet and then pour the water into the rimmed baking sheet.

9.  Bake at 450 F for about 30 minutes, until the bread is a beautiful golden brown.

10.  Allow the bread to cool before enjoying it.

11.  You can keep the rest of the dough in the refrigerator in a Tupperware container for up to 2 weeks. Continue to enjoy fresh bread until all your dough is used.

I loved the ease of have dough in the fridge to make a fresh loaf of bread.  It didn’t require tons of prep time and was so easy to pull out during the week.

This Rosemary Round Loaf was a little more time consuming but was stil really easy.  It’s just not something you can decide on an hour before dinner as it needs to rise twice.  I didn’t have organic sugar so i just used 3 packets of Sugar in the Raw.  I used dried rosemary as well.  This bread smells amazing while it cooks and it’s just as pretty to look at.  This is one of those recipes that makes me marvel at what I’m able to create in my kitchen.