This bread is much easier to make than traditional, so that even a
beginner could do it. The downside is that it makes round instead of
normal loaves, not so good for sandwiches. I’m working on fixing that.
We call it “overnight bread” at my place, and make it once or twice a
week.
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ tsp yeast
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
Combine dry ingredients and add 1 5/8 cups
water. Mix well. Cover with towel and let rise
12-18 hours. The dough is ready when the
surface is bubbly.
Flour the table and the dough. Roll it over itself a
couple of times. Put back in bowl and let lay for
about 15 minutes. Roll dough into a ball shape
and sprinkle it with cornmeal or cracker crumbs if
desired.
Let it sit again for 2-3 hours. It is ready when an
imprint remains when poked.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a casserole
dish in the oven to warm it. When the oven is hot,
put the dough in the dish and cook with a lid for
half an hour. Remove the lid and cook another
15-30 minutes.
From HBHW reader Erin B.
INTERESTING TECHNIQUE! i can’t wait to try it. but i am wondering if the
same technique could be used and place the dough in a long rectangular
baking dish, that way you could slice it for sandwiches. would that work?
I made this bread last night and baked it this morning. Absolutely delicious. I have already shared the recipe! Thank you!
I have made this bread in every flavor combination from orange cinnamon raisen to garlic to cheddar cheese/pepperoni. The posibilities are endless and they all came out delicious.
Will this work with bread flour? I bought a bunch that I am trying to use up.
Also, is it a bread with a crisp crust or a softer crust?
Thanks
I’ve been making this bread 2-3 times per week for about a year now. Here’s what I’ve found:
1) It’s just fine for sandwiches; you just get a long rectangle for each slice instead of a square. It’s like making a sandwich from spendy “artisan bread” from the grocery store bakery. If you cut back a little on the water, though, you may find that you get more of a ball shape, and it won’t spread out so much in the casserole.
2) The crust is VERY crispy and crackly the first day. However, it softens noticeably when the bread is a day or two old. Once it is completely cool I store it in a very large Tupperware container and it keeps a good three days.
3) Since it’s like a sourdough, the crumb stays moist longer than some other types of breads, and it also takes a little longer to get moldy.
4) To add some nutrition, I use 2 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour and 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour. The crumb didn’t hold together well enough to my liking when I used a full cup of whole-wheat flour, but other people may not mind so much.
This is an awesome, simple bread recipe. My bread came out perfect. I used bread flour and had to add about a 3/4 cup more to make the bread less sticky and more like elastic. I didn’t have a lidded dish, so I used a pie pan. To help retain moisture like a lid would, I added a pan of water on the bottom shelf, until about 10 minutes before bread was fully baked. Once I took out the water, the crust got crispier. Totally great bread. Thank you so much.
Trying this now – Have to dough sitting out for the rest of the night – hoping the best for tomorrow.