A simple recipe to bake your own bread
The key to a delicious result is putting in the prep work
Nothing says comfort quite like the smell of freshly baked bread. It’s one of my all-time favourite things to eat, especially still warm from the oven with a pat of butter and some homemade jam. Here’s a recipe that makes this simple pleasure accessible to any home cook — with five ingredients and a few straightforward steps, it’s a lot easier to pull off than you might think.
The key is a little prep work. The next time a craving for a fresh loaf of bread hits, just mix your dough before bedtime. It only takes about 10 minutes. The dough does most of the work for you overnight, rising until morning, which is when you briefly knead it and let it rise a bit more. Then into a preheated Dutch oven it goes.
The result is the perfect crusty and chewy loaf of bread — if there’s any left over after breakfast, prepare for the sandwich of a lifetime.
In a large pot, combine the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water. With a fork, stir until the flour is completely moistened, but not necessarily smooth.
Cover and let rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
In a large bowl, place the whole wheat flour. Set aside.
With your hands, directly in the pot, fold the risen dough onto itself, about 6 times, or until it is smooth.
Transfer the dough into the bowl with the whole wheat flour and turn to coat the entire surface of the dough.
Cover and let rise for 45 minutes at room temperature or until it has doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, with the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 450 F/230 C. Place a 12-cup (3L) Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with its lid (not glass) in the oven, and heat for about 30 minutes.
Remove the pot’s lid. Drop the floured bread dough in the centre of the hot pot. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 30 minutes.
Let the bread cool on a wire rack or in the pot. Remove any excess flour. Makes 1 loaf — about 1- 2⁄ lb.
3 (750 g). Note: This recipe was inspired by the bread recipe created by Jim Lahey and presented by food writer Mark Bittman in the New York Times.