Artisan Bread Part 2

As promised here is the part where you can bake your bread. If you missed part 1, then READ IT HERE.

Get your dough out of the fridge and also get a piece of parchment paper out to bake your bread on. If you don't have parchment paper, don't sweat it. You will need to flour whatever pan or stone you wish to bake the bread on. Then when you go to the store get some parchment paper! It makes baking tons easier!

Now get a little flour and sprinkle it on top of the dough.

Now reach into the dough with your hand and grab about a grapefruit sized portion of dough.

Now fold the sides down and around to make a smooth ball with the seams at the bottom. This should only take seconds....don't obsess over it:-)

Okay, you are ready to place the dough on the paper or baking sheet and let it rest about an hour. Also, preheat your oven to 450. Yep, 450!

If you feel impatient or very, very hungry you can let it rest only 45 minutes:-)

Now that it has rested you can make three slits into the dough with a serrated knife. Be quick and firm...don't hesitate!

Now, let's discuss the oven. I use an oven stone. It's a stone that I keep on my rack to bake bread on. I bake everyday so it's useful. Before I had an "official" oven stone I kept a rectangular stone in my oven that I bought years ago from The Pampered Chef. You do not have to use a stone. You can bake this bread on a baking sheet or on a stone. The stone lends a more artisan look and texture. Here is my set up.

I have my stone and also have a broiler pan on the rack underneath. Water can be poured into the broiler pan just as the dough is placed on the stone. This creates steam which in turn creates a very hard crust. This crust on the bread will be hard even without the steam..so use what you have and it will be perfect!

 Place your slit dough loaves into the oven. (I always make 2 loaves for my crew at lunch time)

If you are using steam, then pour about a cup of water into the broiler pan just before closing the oven door.


Allow the bread to bake 30-40 minutes. It will smell yummy and will turn a nice golden brown. Do not worry too much about drying this bread out by overcooking. Remember that you started with a wet dough and it is pretty forgiving.

When it's done take it out and allow it to cool on a wire rack.

It's difficult to slice if it is hot, so at least restrain yourself a bit and allow it to get to the warm stage. I speak from experience! As with all homemade breads I recommend you slice it with an electric knife, but any serrated knife will do. Enjoy!!

Let me know how hooked you become:-)

Artisan Bread the Easy Way

What do I do when I suddenly crave a yummy warm loaf of artisan bread? Well I suppose I could hop in my car and drive to the local bakery BUT my life is more involved than that.
I have too many kids to just hop in my car large van and spend a nice afternoon sipping tea and eating fancy bread.
Nope, my life and circumstance requires that I be more efficient, frugal, and practical.
Here is my secret weapon

 I bought this book a couple of months ago and LOVE it. L-O-V-E. IT!
Let me tell ya'll that I am not affiliated with the authors of this book, but I do want to share the basic recipe and show ya'll how great it is to bake fresh artisan bread in a snap. Everyday.

The concept behind this method is to mix up the dough and place it in the fridge. Now, the dough is wet and not kneaded like your typical bread. This means you do not need a huge mixer or any fancy gadgets. The recipe makes enough dough for 4 loaves. You make how many you need and store the leftover dough on the fridge for another day...up to a week.
Let's get started by making the dough today and then tomorrow we will make a loaf of bread.

Basic Boule Recipe
3 C warm water
1 1/2 TB active yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 TB Kosher salt
6 1/2 C all-purpose flour

To start you will need a container for the dough. Choose one with a lid, but not an airtight lid. A 5qt ice cream bucket works great. I double my recipe so I use a larger container that I bought at Sam's Club.

Now all you have to do is add 3 C warm water to your container.

To this add your yeast, salt and flour. Just dump it in there. Now, if you plan to bake alot of bread it would be best to buy your yeast at a wholesaler such as Sam's Club. This is what I buy and I store the opened package in the freezer and use it as needed.

You actually get 2 pounds of yeast for about $6.00. That is a great price if you bake quite a bit. The same goes with flour. I buy and use Bread Flour that I buy at either Sam's or Costco. It's a great deal. What about whole wheat flour? Yes, I do grind my own wheat and you may certainly use whole wheat in this recipe. I tried it with all whole wheat flour and it was good, but very dense. I also tried half wheat and half white and though it was not as dense and still good I just prefer using all white in this bread. It's a treat. I still use all whole wheat in our sandwich bread.
Moving on...... now you simply grab your largest wooden spoon and mix and stir just until all of the flour is incorporated.

That's it! Do not knead this dough. It will be a little wet and lumpy and that is OK! Now,place the lid on (not airtight!) and allow this to rest at room temp about an hour.

Once it has about doubled in size like this.....

You can place it in the fridge. Tomorrow we will pull it out and bake bread. It's that simple. The whole process to make the dough takes about 10 minutes tops!
Yeah, you'll be hooked!
See ya tomorrow.

Today

Today....

I woke up with a cold.

I baked fresh whole wheat bread.

I missed my dad so much it hurt.

I took a nap with the baby and snuggled him close.

I crossed only one item off my "to do" list.

I walked to the beehives and back.

I saw this hanging around my front step.

I noticed I have a Christmas decoration still out near the front door.

I am thankful for all that I have.

Shock and Awe

We are back from our road trip to visit my sister in Arkansas and while we were gone something amazing happened. It snowed. A. Lot.

Ya'll this was not a small snow. It snowed 8 inches and today is day 4 of the stuff still hanging around. I thought we were in the South, but now I wonder.
Anyway, we are home and spending the day doing nothing but playing, relaxing and eating. Monday will be a kicker here when we start school back. It will be a loooong day, I am sure of it.

Here is what most people look like when they see us show up at their door for a 5 day visit.

That is my nephew, actually, and we were playing charades. I think he was acting out "my aunt and her large brood just showed up for a 5 day visit!"

Seriously, we had a great time, and I am not very good at Just Dance 2 unless you count points for making up moves as you dance along. I am expert at that:-)

Now that we are back home it is time to start making my lists of everything I need to accomplish this month year. The list looks something like this:

1. Bake cookies
2. Watch movies
3. Organize closets
4. Clean pantry

Oh, it is a longer list than this, BUT I am feeling very motivated and happy to have accomplished the first 2 items.
Can I get a hip=hip hurray?

Road Trip

There's nothing like planning a trip across states to visit family. I have 7 kiddos plus myself to pack for...and 2 are in diapers. I also have piles of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals.
Tomorrow we head out to visit my sister, although Devin gets to stay home and take care of the billions of critters here. This will be a short trip and we will be back early next week.
It's amazing how much laundry I must do in order for us to have enough clothes to take. But we are almost ready to pack the van up..the cooler is in back already. Yes, I pack a massive cooler with drinks and food. A trip through a McDonalds costs me about $30....so we pack a cooler which actually is nicer, besides being cheaper. It is the supply of soda and tootsie roll pops that gets me through.

Spring Dreaming

There's nothing like weeks of winter to get me thinking about spring. Yes, WEEKS of cold weather. I know, I know..some of ya'll have MONTHS of cold weather. Me? I am whining about winter already:-)

Today my sewing patterns arrived for the spring skirts I will be sewing for myself and at least 2 of the girls. My oldest girls want to live barefoot and in cut off shorts. That's fine. I, however, along with my little girls wish to sport around barefoot and in a pretty skirt.

Don't they look great? You can find them for sale HERE.

Now all I need is a great sale at the quilt store for fabric!

Big Hearts

Tonight my girls and I sat on the bed and talked about orphans. We discussed why some kids are orphans, we discussed the ugly truth about abandonment and civil war, we discussed HIV and what it means for an orphan in Africa.
We looked at pictures of beautiful, sweet children of God who are orphans. My sweet Willow thinks these kids need a mom and dad and 2 brothers and 5 sisters. She is right, you know.
My girls have big hearts.
Won't you go visit Ordinary Hero? It might change your life for the better.