Crusty…mmmm….
Here’s something you probably didn’t know about me. I absolutely LOVE crusty breads. I think it goes back to the year I spent as an exchange student in Germany when I was 16/17 years old. The “artisan” bread movement hadn’t really hit the US and yet there were little bread stores all over Europe.
Upon arriving, this was the bane of my existence. Even as a starch-lover, I couldn’t believe that people at so much bread. Broetchen for breakfast…bread at lunch…. Sandwiches for dinner… Bread was more common at meals than drinks (which, as a mid-westerner I couldn’t imagine!)
The bread, however, was not the fake, fluffy, tasteless, cheap-o stuff we Americans have grown so accustomed to though. It was good, solid, heavy chunks of stuff. I grew to love it. And nothing I’ve found stateside (or been able to recreate) quite lives up to the memory.
Part of the problem is that good artisan bread requires high temperatures and steam - neither of which home ovens are created to reproduce. I’ve tried everything: ice cubes in the bottom of the oven; spray bottles before and/or during baking; boiling water in the oven with it; baking stones, round loaves, bread pans… etc.
My new favorite, ironically, is the simplest of recipes. water, yeast, salt, flour. No kneading. No work at all. I’m about to pull a loaf out of the oven as I type this. It’s a re-make of the no-knead recipe that the NY Times printed a few years ago. I found it in Mother Earth News during a local trip to Barnes and Noble (I don’t subscribe any longer… did once though.)
You can find it here. Yep, they’ve printed the recipe on the web.
I’ve tried it in my cast-iron dutch oven (which left the house a little smoky but turned out great) and in a regular stainless-steel dutch oven/soup pan. If you want crusty bread with a great chewy middle…this will become your new favorite recipe - AND IT’S EASY!
Enjoy!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
2 Responses to “Crusty…mmmm….”
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January 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
That sounds a lot like something my sister-out-of-law makes that she calls Cuban bread. It’s soft, dense and moist on the inside and hard and crusty on the outside.
For me, the best tasting breads are ones where the yeast can react for the longest period of time. My partner makes an Italian yeast/batter bread that he leaves in the mix master for about an hour before he lets it rise twice.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Joe…
Welcome! I agree with you about the bread flavor; I have a ciabatta (Italian slipper bread) recipe which has a starter that takes all night to work. It (like this “no knead” bread) has a good chewy inside and real “bread” flavor.
Congrats on the incredible turnout for the upcoming retreat — Oh, if only I could pull it off, it looks like it’s going to be a great time. Oh well… distance and, well, let’s admit it, weekends are a little difficult for me (occupational hazard!)
Grace and Peace,
`tim