Warm up!!!! Artisan Bread Recipe to Share

There is just something fantastic about the aroma of freshly baked bread on a cold winters day...

Here at The Lazyjack Inn we have quite a penchant for baking...we have a lot of fun trying out new recipes...some make it to the guest table and some do not..but we have a great time experimenting!

This is a terrific recipe that was recently shared and we would love to pass onto you.

We have added this one to our list of favorite breads!

SIMPLE CRUSTY BREAD

Time to prep: About 45 minutes plus @ 3 hours resting and raise

Yield: 4 rounded loaves

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tblspns yeast

1 1/2 tblspns kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting )

cornmeal

water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In large bowl or platic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water(about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mising until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose(almost like a batter bread). cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room tempertaure for 2 hours (2 hours seems to be just about right...any longer than 3 brings on falling).

2. At this point you can shape your bread and bake OR refrigerate, covred, for as long as two weeks.

3. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on the dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with a serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with corn meal (any wooden cutting board or the bottom of a cast iron skillet will work fine). Let dough rest here for 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.

4.Place broiler pan in bottom of oven to warm (this will be filled with water when bread goes into oven). Place your baking stone (pizza stone or heavy cookie sheet)on middle rack and turnover to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temp. for 20 minutes.

5. When bread has risen dust with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Carefully slide onto heated stone ( this move is why the dusting of cornmeal is so important in step three!). Pour one cup of water into broiler pan and shut overn quickly to trap steam. (the steam is what will give you your fantastic crusty bread!) Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

We hope that you have fun with this one!

Carol

Taken from The New York Times November 21, 2007

(adapted from 'artisan bread in five minutes a day" by jeff hertzberg and Zoe Francois (Thomas Dunne Books , 2007)