commenteuropean peasant bread
the girl recently surprised me with a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a book that aims to simplify the process of making fancy high-quality bread. i definitely recommend it, even if i had trouble believing that the authors could pull off the concept before tasting it myself. the basic idea is that you can make bake great bread that tastes like you spent much more time on it than you really did - no starters or kneading necessary. that’s right, no kneading.
with most of the recipes in the book, an overly wet dough is quickly mixed together and allowed to rise in the bowl straight away. it is then quickly shaped into loaves after a few hours of rising. for those few seconds that the dough was actually in my hands for shaping, i was tempted to start working it on the counter to get a consistency i was more comfortable with, but the whole point is to let the ingredients do their job.
restraint definitely pays off with these recipes. i know mark bittman’s no-knead bread was all the rage, but the rising time for the original recipe is 12-18 hours. this peasant bread rose for 2 hours, and then another 40 minutes after it was shaped and as the oven warmed up. the crust and crumb were delicious, and as the smell of this bread filled the apartment, it made me want to grab a loaf and have a picnic in the park with a block of cheese and a cheap bottle of wine.
since my kitchen is about 40 degrees most mornings, there’s only more incentive this season to fire up the oven and bake a fresh loaf of bread every day or two. join me, won’t you?
european peasant bread
makes 4 loaves (so this recipe can be easily halved). from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups flour
1. mix the salt and yeast with the water in a large bowl. mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading. the dough will be very wet. cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.
2. at this point you can use the dough or refrigerate (it will keep for about 2 weeks). if you are going to make the bread right away, it’s still a good idea to refrigerate the dough for an hour or two so it is easier to handle.
3. cut off a section of the dough (1/4 if you make enough for 4 loaves), and dust it with flour. quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. allow to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered baking sheet. while the dough is rising, heat the oven to 450 F and place an empty broiler tray (i used a small casserole dish) on the lowest rack in the oven. if you are baking on a baking stone, place it in the oven to heat up with the oven.
4. when the oven is ready and the dough has risen, sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and make a few 1/4 inch deep slashes on the top using a serated bread knife (a cross or tic-tac-toe pattern both work). leave the flour on top of the loaf during baking.
5. place the baking sheet into the oven (or slide the dough onto your baking stone). pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, quickly close the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. the top should get a good hard crust and will be deeply browned. allow to cool on a cooling rack and brush off excess flour from the top of the loaf before slicing.
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18 comments so far ↓
Jess | Nov 3, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I would really really want to knead it. The temptation would be overwhelming. But the end product looks very nice and crusty.
Y | Nov 3, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I love rustic breads. Yours looks fabulous. Did you know Zoe Francois has a blog?
http://zoebakes.com/
If you love the book, Pete Bakes should certainly meet Zoe Bakes
mary | Nov 3, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I’ve been thinking about buying this book. Glad to hear that you like it.
Louise | Nov 3, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I treated myself to this book last summer because of two torn rotator cuffs and have been a happy glutton ever since - my husband is also enjoying the results of this effortless bread baking and my daughter, who was a professional baker in San Francisco a good number of years ago is having fun with these recipes. You won’t be disappointed - next project the reason I really bought the book - the rye bread, shades of my childhood.
Jeff Hertzberg | Nov 4, 2008 at 8:31 am
I’m Jeff Hertzberg, one of the co-authors of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I’m so glad our recipes are working well for you. Come visit us anytime at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com, where you can post questions into any “Comments” field, or click on “Bread Questions” on the left side of the homepage and choose among the options.
Jeff Hertzberg
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com
http://twitter.com/ArtisanBreadIn5
Chicago tribune video: http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780312362911&m_type=2&m_contentid=119255#video
Amy | Nov 4, 2008 at 8:50 am
In addition to Zoe bakes, there is the book’s blog.
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/
Your bread looks great, by the way!
My First Kitchen | Nov 4, 2008 at 11:11 am
I’m intrigued. And the texture looks surprisingly bread-like for not kneading. I’ll definitely have to try it. Great photos!
Elle | Nov 4, 2008 at 2:05 pm
That does it! I’m buying this book this weekend. Your bread looks incredible–I can almost smell it baking. Gorgeous photos, too!
Ramona | Nov 4, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Your bread looks beautiful. The crust and flour..and the way the bread yields in the middle. I think I’ll put the book on my Christmas list…
Rivka | Nov 4, 2008 at 3:23 pm
great site — thanks for linking! always happy to discover fellow dc bloggers. we should organize an event or something….
Shaw Girl | Nov 4, 2008 at 6:29 pm
So went out and bought this book on my lunch break based on how beautiful your bread looks. Will let you know the results!
Zoë François | Nov 4, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Your loaf is truly gorgeous! Thank you so much for trying out the recipes and sharing your wonderful bread with your readers!
Best, Zoë Francois
[eatingclub] vancouver || js | Nov 6, 2008 at 1:05 am
Bread looks gorgeous!
cheryl | Nov 6, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I borrowed this book from the library and renewed it and returned it late. I loved the idea but found it hard to eat 4 loaves of bread in 2 weeks. My dough went really sour once. The sticky bun recipe was delicious. I’ll have to try it again when I have more time.
dawn | Nov 6, 2008 at 6:08 pm
you know I learned the hard way, not to come to your website on an empty stomach (after seeing those friggin donuts), and yet, here I am again, starving….
dana | Nov 9, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Chleby są po prostu bajeczne.Już czuję ten zapach. Pozdrawiam z Polski.
Adrienne | Nov 21, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I just discovered your blog and I love it - I also love this book! I bought it last week and have already made three loaves of bread. My roommate who has very strong feelings about bread and how moist it ought to be really enjoys it. I’m glad you’re enjoying it too!
caren | Dec 18, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I am in the throws of making this recipe….I halved it and didn’t find the dough wet at all…I am concerned. I will see how it goes. I also used more whole wheat white flour than called for because all of my white flour has been used on xmas cookies. We will see how it turns out, I am very novice so chances are it will take me a couple of tries.
I love your site…thanks Pete!
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