Artisan bread in just 5 minutes a day!

OK, so sorry I haven't been on here in a while...I'm not even sure what I've been doing with all my time lately!

Anyway, for Easter dinner, Chris went looking for an artisan-style rosemary bread recipe, and this is what he found! It was AWESOME! I'm going to try to make a second loaf (from the same dough - see below) tonight!
http://angelnina.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/artisan-bread-in-five-minutes-update-second-loaf-on-convection-bake/

**Turns out this recipe is actually from a book called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"...I think I have to add it to my wish list!!!

Recipe: Simple Crusty Bread

Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal.



1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.




I made a few changes: I slit after rising–I had to let it rise for almost an hour this time. I set my oven to convection bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes prior to baking. I still used the pizza stone and cup of a boiling water for steam. After fifteen mintues of convection at 425 degrees, I quickly switched my oven to regular bake cycle at 450 degrees for another fifteen minutes.