Daily Bread

So this recipe has been around for a while, first introduced to me by a dear friend who uses it well.

I touched on this dough recipe in this post using it to make pizza, and this post in which it magically transformed into a fruit tart. But I've had a special request to share my everyday bread technique again, which I'm happy to do. It's become a staple in our house because it's so very easy!

I like to make a batch every two weeks or so and we use it for everything from the traditional Boule to the everyday sandwich loaf to pizza crust. It can also be  lovely when pressed flat and sprinkled with corse salt and any herb you have on hand, I like Rosemary. I use to make not so sweet rustic tarts filled with veggies or fruit, see image below. We (Ned) also uses it for the occasional special weekend breakfast, he rolls the dough flat and layers it with cinnamon and sugar to make gooey cinnamon rolls. The possibilities are quite endless, the recipe is based on the famous 5 minutes a day bread which you can find out more about here.

Basic No Knead Dough

5 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

3 cups warm water

Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Pour warm (but not hot) water into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a separate bowl.) Add yeast to water and let it sit for a minute or so. Gradually add flour to the water and yeast mixture. I usually do with with the dough hook attachment on my stand mixer but a regular bowl and wooden spoon work as well. Mix together until the flour and water come together to form a dough ball, not too sticky or too dry, you may need to add a little extra water to get it the proper consistency.

After it is mixed, put it in a large plastic container, it will double in size so find something big to store it in. Let it sit on the counter loosely covered until the dough doubles in volume and then settles on the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then take the amount you need out of the fridge and make your dough ball (about the size of a large grapefruit) or pat out your pizza dough on a metal baking sheet (use a little olive oil under the dough to keep it from sticking.) Let the dough rest for about 30 min, pizza dough doesn't need so long but it's good to bring it down to room temperature.

 If you are making bread, slash the top with a knife to allow it to expand and bake it for 30 min. If you are making pizza layer a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil first (this makes it crispier and prevents sticking) and bake it for about 10-12 min.