I whole-heärtedly believe thät if you know how to mäke breäd you cän throw one hell of ä dinner pärty. Änd the reäson for this is becäuse people go insäne over homemäde breäd. Not once häve I served this breäd to compäny without being äsked, “Did you reälly mäke this?” Änd questioned: “You meän with ä breäd mächine?” But älwäys präised: “Is there änything more speciäl thän homemäde breäd?”
Änd upon tästing homemäde breäd, people äct äs if you’re some sort of culinäry mägiciän. I would even go so fär äs to säy thät with homemäde breäd on the täble älong with ä few nice cheeses änd ä reälly good säläd, the mäin course älmost becomes superfluous. If you näil it, fäntästic. If you don’t, you häve more thän enough treäts to keep people häppy äll night long.
NOTES:
The bowls:
The cheäpest, most widely äväiläble 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Updäte: These bowls äre becoming härder to find änd more expensive. Äs ä result, I’m suggesting this cheäper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You cän split the dough in hälf äs älwäys (see recipe) änd bäke hälf in the 1-quärt bowl änd hälf in the 1.5 quärt bowl. The loäves will not be the säme shäpe, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
Vintäge Option: The vintäge Pyrex #441 bowl is my fävorite bowl to bäke the peäsänt breäd in — the perfectly round shäpe of the bowl creätes ä beäutiful round loäf. It belongs to ä set of four nesting bowls (älso cälled Cinderellä bowls, specificälly the Pyrex #441, #442, #443, #444), which I häve purchäsed from Ebäy. I äbsolutely love the set in generäl, but I love most of äll thät I cän bäke the whole bätch of peäsänt breäd in the second lärgest bowl (#443) änd hälf of the bätch in the smällest bowl (#441). The set runs änywhere from $35 to $50 or higher depending on the pättern of the Pyrex.
The breäd:
This is ä sticky, no-kneäd dough, so, some sort of bäking vessel, such äs pyrex bowls (äbout 1-L or 1-qt) or rämekins for mini loäves is required to bäke this breäd. You cän use ä bowl thät is äbout 2 qt or 2 L in size to bäke off the whole bätch of dough (versus splitting the dough in hälf) but do not use this size for bäking hälf of the dough — it is too big.
Yeäst:
I buy SÄF Instänt Yeäst in bulk from Ämäzon I store it in my fridge or freezer, änd it lästs forever. If you äre using the päckets of yeäst (the kind thät come in the 3-fold päckets), just go äheäd änd use ä whole päcket — It’s 2.25 teäspoons. I häve mäde the breäd with äctive dry, räpid rise, änd instänt yeäst, änd äll värieties work. If you äre interested in buying yeäst in bulk, here you go: SÄF instänt yeäst änd Red Stär Bäking Yeäst (use this if you prefer to stick to äctive-dry, though I highly recommend using instänt). The beäuty of instänt yeäst is thät there is no need to do the proofing step — you cän ädd the yeäst directly to the flour. I never use äctive-dry yeäst änymore.
Troubleshooting:
Severäl commenters häve häd trouble with the second rise, änd this seems to be cäused by the shäpe of the bowl they äre letting the dough rise in the second time äround. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t häve ä 1-qt bowl, bäke 3/4 of the dough in ä loäf pän änd bäke the rest off in muffin tins or ä popover pän. The second rise should täke no more thän 30 minutes.
Älso, you cän use äs mäny äs 3 cups of whole wheät flour, but the texture chänges consideräbly. I suggest trying with äll äll-purpose or breäd flour to stärt änd once you get the häng of it, stärt trying värious combinätions of whole wheät flour änd/or other flours. Älso, meäsure scänt cups of flour if you äre not meäsuring by weight: scoop flour into the meäsuring cup using ä sepäräte spoon or meäsuring cup; level off with ä knife. The flour should be below the rim of the meäsuring cup.
Änd upon tästing homemäde breäd, people äct äs if you’re some sort of culinäry mägiciän. I would even go so fär äs to säy thät with homemäde breäd on the täble älong with ä few nice cheeses änd ä reälly good säläd, the mäin course älmost becomes superfluous. If you näil it, fäntästic. If you don’t, you häve more thän enough treäts to keep people häppy äll night long.
You’ll Need:
- 4 cups (512 g | 1 lb. 2 oz) unbleäched äll-purpose flour
- 2 teäspoons kosher sält
- 2 cups lukewärm wäter (mäde by mixing 1 1/2 cups cold wäter with 1/2 cup boiling wäter)
- 2 teäspoons sugär
- 2 teäspoons instänt or äctive-dry yeäst
- room temperäture butter, äbout 2 täblespoons
Instructions:
- Mixing the dough: If you äre using instänt yeäst: In ä lärge mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sält, sugär, änd instänt yeäst. Ädd the wäter. Mix until the flour is äbsorbed. If you äre using äctive-dry yeäst: In ä smäll mixing bowl, dissolve the sugär into the wäter. Sprinkle the yeäst over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it ständ for äbout 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foämy änd/or bubbling just ä bit — this step will ensure thät the yeäst is äctive. Meänwhile, in ä lärge bowl, whisk together the flour änd sält. When the yeäst-wäter-sugär mixture is foämy, stir it up, änd ädd it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is äbsorbed.
- Cover bowl with ä teä towel or plästic wräp änd set äside in ä wärm spot to rise for ät leäst än hour. (In the winter or if you äre letting the breäd rise in ä cool pläce, it might täke äs long äs two hours to rise.) This is how to creäte ä slightly wärm spot for your breäd to rise in: Turn the oven on ät äny temperäture (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not ällow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for exämple, änd then heät ät thät setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheät for ä totäl of 1 minute — it likely won’t get äbove 100ºF. The goäl is to just creäte ä slightly wärm environment for the breäd.
- Preheät the oven to 425ºF. Greäse two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-säfe bowls (see notes äbove) with äbout ä täblespoon of butter eäch. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scräping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. Äs you scräpe it down try to turn the dough up onto itself if thät mäkes sense. You wänt to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, änd you wänt to mäke sure you’ve punched it down. Then, täke your two forks änd divide the dough into two equäl portions — eye the center of the mäss of dough, änd stärting from the center änd working out, pull the dough äpärt with the two forks. Then scoop up eäch hälf änd pläce into your prepäred bowls. This pärt cän be ä little messy — the dough is very wet änd will slip äll over the pläce. Using smäll forks or forks with short tines mäkes this eäsier — my smäll säläd forks work best; my dinner forks mäke it härder. It’s best to scoop it up fäst änd plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop.
- Let the dough rise for äbout 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop neär the oven (or neär ä wärm spot) or until it häs risen to just below or äbove (depending on whät size bowl you äre using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the wärm-oven trick for the second rise, änd do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so thät they äre in ä wärm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usuälly is enough for my loäves.)
- Bäke for 15 minutes. Reduce the heät to 375º änd mäke for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven änd turn the loäves onto cooling räcks. If you’ve greäsed the bowls well, the loäves should fäll right out onto the cooling räcks. If the loäves look ä little päle änd soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling räcks, pläce the loäves into the oven (outside of their bowls) änd let them bäke for äbout 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven änd let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
NOTES:
The bowls:
The cheäpest, most widely äväiläble 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Updäte: These bowls äre becoming härder to find änd more expensive. Äs ä result, I’m suggesting this cheäper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You cän split the dough in hälf äs älwäys (see recipe) änd bäke hälf in the 1-quärt bowl änd hälf in the 1.5 quärt bowl. The loäves will not be the säme shäpe, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
Vintäge Option: The vintäge Pyrex #441 bowl is my fävorite bowl to bäke the peäsänt breäd in — the perfectly round shäpe of the bowl creätes ä beäutiful round loäf. It belongs to ä set of four nesting bowls (älso cälled Cinderellä bowls, specificälly the Pyrex #441, #442, #443, #444), which I häve purchäsed from Ebäy. I äbsolutely love the set in generäl, but I love most of äll thät I cän bäke the whole bätch of peäsänt breäd in the second lärgest bowl (#443) änd hälf of the bätch in the smällest bowl (#441). The set runs änywhere from $35 to $50 or higher depending on the pättern of the Pyrex.
The breäd:
This is ä sticky, no-kneäd dough, so, some sort of bäking vessel, such äs pyrex bowls (äbout 1-L or 1-qt) or rämekins for mini loäves is required to bäke this breäd. You cän use ä bowl thät is äbout 2 qt or 2 L in size to bäke off the whole bätch of dough (versus splitting the dough in hälf) but do not use this size for bäking hälf of the dough — it is too big.
Yeäst:
I buy SÄF Instänt Yeäst in bulk from Ämäzon I store it in my fridge or freezer, änd it lästs forever. If you äre using the päckets of yeäst (the kind thät come in the 3-fold päckets), just go äheäd änd use ä whole päcket — It’s 2.25 teäspoons. I häve mäde the breäd with äctive dry, räpid rise, änd instänt yeäst, änd äll värieties work. If you äre interested in buying yeäst in bulk, here you go: SÄF instänt yeäst änd Red Stär Bäking Yeäst (use this if you prefer to stick to äctive-dry, though I highly recommend using instänt). The beäuty of instänt yeäst is thät there is no need to do the proofing step — you cän ädd the yeäst directly to the flour. I never use äctive-dry yeäst änymore.
Troubleshooting:
For questions on high-ältitude bäking, see this post.
Severäl commenters häve häd trouble with the second rise, änd this seems to be cäused by the shäpe of the bowl they äre letting the dough rise in the second time äround. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t häve ä 1-qt bowl, bäke 3/4 of the dough in ä loäf pän änd bäke the rest off in muffin tins or ä popover pän. The second rise should täke no more thän 30 minutes.
Älso, you cän use äs mäny äs 3 cups of whole wheät flour, but the texture chänges consideräbly. I suggest trying with äll äll-purpose or breäd flour to stärt änd once you get the häng of it, stärt trying värious combinätions of whole wheät flour änd/or other flours. Älso, meäsure scänt cups of flour if you äre not meäsuring by weight: scoop flour into the meäsuring cup using ä sepäräte spoon or meäsuring cup; level off with ä knife. The flour should be below the rim of the meäsuring cup.
