I think it's about darn time I post something happy on my blog, don't you think? So yes, time to post happy stuff! And what could be happier than yummy, yummy bread?
Nothing! That's what!
Bread is happy!! Now smile! Yay!
Today we will be making what my friends have dubbed 'Super Easy Heather Bread'. Of course, we soon realized that title could be taken a multitude of rather risqué ways, but it stuck nonetheless. So trust me, said super easiness applies only to the ease with which this bread is made. Got it? Good. Just as long as we're clear. ;)
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That is the bread that we will be baking today! It's a totally awesome kick butt classic white French bread. Good & crusty on the outside, soft & fluffy on the inside. Yet it is SO easy to make that my nephews could whip it up entirely on their own when they were only three years old! (Though of course, the adults took care of the baking part!)
Trust me, with only a teensy bit of effort & just a dab of patience, you will end up with bread that will knock your friends' socks off! I guarantee that everyone will think you built a brick oven in your house & spent ages studying with the owner of some famous French boulangerie! (And no, sorry boys, that word has nothing to do with lingerie.) |
Ingredients n' Stuff!
- 3 cups of water, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of yeast
- 6 & 1/2 cups of flour, preferably unbleached all-purpose
- Some cornmeal (totally optional & can be discarded if you're trying to avoid corn.)
- A medium to large size container with a lid.
- A wire whisk
- A cookie sheet, preferably with a silicone baking sheet on top.
- A fridge & an oven. Obvious, sure, but I feel like being obvious today.
The Recipe!
- Start by mixing the 3 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of yeast together with a wire whisk until yeast dissolves. You don't have to be super careful about it dissolving all the way.
- Next, stir in 6 & 1/2 cups of flour, preferably unbleached all-purpose.
- Do a little dance if you want to, cause that's pretty much it for the first stage. Put dough in your container with a lid, but DO NOT close the lid all the way!! Just gently set the lid on top with a little crack through which to breathe. Let the dough sit out for 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
- Wait patiently. I know it's hard, but at least you aren't wasting your time kneading bread, right? Right?!
- After waiting for two hours, you can form a loaf now if you have to. But it's way easier to handle if you put the dough in the fridge overnight. Again, leave it in the container, but don't shut the lid all the way. If you have to make a loaf right away, dust your hands with flour. Makes it easier & less sticky. (Unless you're into sticky... no judging here!)
- To form the loaf, rip off a piece. But don't make it too big - it's better to make several smaller loaves than one big one. Start off with a loaf about the size of your fist, maybe a little bigger. Or you can make little rolls out of it, those turn out cute too. But the fist-sized ones are my favorite. You get that nice barbaric feeling of ripping into a nice hunk of bread & watching the crust crackle. Mmm. :) Ahem. Anyway...
- Lightly fold the dough into a loaf shape. No need to knead it! :) Seriously, don't knead it. Trust me.
- Use a cookie sheet, preferably with a silicone baking sheet on top. Add a layer of cornmeal on the baking sheet, then place your loaf on top of the cornmeal. (We have since learned the cornmeal isn't entirely necessary, if for whatever reason you want to avoid adding corn to the bread. But I'll admit, I do like the texture the cornmeal gives to the bottom of the crust!)
- Let the loaf sit for 40 minutes! I know, again with the waiting! Although on the plus side, this part will fill your kitchen with yummy bread smell. Mmmm. Bread smell... :)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Dust the top of the loaf with unbleached, all purpose flour.
- Slit the top of the loaf with a serrated knife. You can even make cute shapes if you want to! No guarantees on how they'll turn out, however...
- Bake for 30 minutes. It'll be all nice & golden brown with a gorgeously delectable crunchy crust & soft yummy insides!
| Ta da! Yummy home made bread with NO fat for only 30-40 cents per loaf!
Another awesome feature of Super Easy Heather Bread is that the dough can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks! Then whenever you want bread, just rip off a loaf-sized chunk & follow prep instructions from there!
Again, when storing the dough, don't close the lid all the way! Much like wild Heathers in their native habitat, this dough doesn't like being too contained or restricted. Let us breathe!
This recipe will make 5/6 loaves. Ish. Depends on what size loaf you make. But again, don't make loaves too big, or the insides won't turn out quite right.
If you'd like to make Super Easy Heather Sourdough, you can reuse the same container to store the dough. Just lightly rinse between uses! Also, much like wild Heathers, we get better with age! |
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Looking for the best dough container? You can sometimes get one for free! The best container we've found is an old icing container from a bakery. You can usually get them for free if you call a local bakery & ask if they have any icing containers you could have. Those containers are the perfect size for the recipe. (At least... they are here anyway!) :)
Enjoy! And please, if you think of any awesome additions to the recipe, please come back and share your creations here in the comments! My family & I found lots of fun things to add to it - mixing in herbs and/or garlic, butter rubs, etc. It's also insanely good smeared with Nutella or Biscoff spread! But I'd love to hear what you come up with! Thanks & happy nomming!
Lastly, just a quick note to make it clear, I sadly cannot take credit for the awesomeness that is this recipe! I honestly have no idea who that genius is, but I tip my hat to them! My Mom got this recipe from one of her friends, who got it from one of their friends, et cetera, et cetera. If you know who the original author is, please let me know so I can give them credit! Thanks!
