Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It's been a long time. . . . . . .


. . . . . . since I baked bread!
I recall trying it back in the sixties, loaves and pizza dough, but didn't have
much success.  Being a young homemaker, taking care of the family took up a
 lot of time. Bread making was a lengthy process. Besides, bread was less
 expensive then, one of the more affordable items on the weekly shopping list
when the budget was tight. 
These days a really good loaf from an artisan bakery can cost several dollars.
Maybe it's time to get back to home baking.

Perhaps I'm late to the 'Faster No Knead Bread' Party!


My good friend Ruth in England recently sent me instructions for making this
 loaf in a Le Creuset Dutch oven. 
When looking online to determine whether anyone else knew about this easy
 sounding homemade bread, and to determine the temperature in Fahrenheit
 rather than Centigrade which Ruth sent, I was astonished to find everyone seems
 to be using this easy recipe!
For me the presentation and recipe from former talk-show host and comedian,
 Jenny Jones won me over.

 I particularly enjoyed watching Jenny's video which you can
 view HERE along with the Faster No Knead Bread recipe on her blog.
Jenny is so much fun to bake along with, go check!


 Here is the first loaf I baked following her recipe. 
 I was truly thrilled with the finished loaf and will be making it again, often.
 I will try some other types of bread using the same basic recipe, sometimes
changing the flour (I used King Arthur unbleached all-purpose white here)
 adding things such as nuts, raisins, cranberries, perhaps Parmesan cheese
 and rosemary etc., the breads I find to be very expensive at the bakery.

This white bread is just as good any I've bought from a bakery. The crust 
was crunchy, the crumb tender and flavorful. Right out of the oven it was
 delicious - 5 days later it was still being toasted for breakfast - and for me
 that's the test of good bread, crunchy toast which stays that way even with
 butter and marmalade! Knowing there are no preservatives and unhealthy
 additives in the bread is definitely another plus. 


Adorable hare and tulips plate, Anthropologie, a gift from granddaughter Jasmin.
Butter pat from my vintage collection. French linen towel with cheese design.
Black 'Scrumptious' cheese board, gift from my daughter Kim, HomeGoods. 
These gals seem to know just what I like!


I have to tell you that although I do have a lot of great Le Creuset baking dishes,
 I don't have one of their beautiful Dutch oven cast iron pots.
 (Santa - I've been good this year!)
I do however have 'knock off' versions of Dutch ovens - two sizes of bright red
 Martha Stewart, and a small cream IKEA one for soups.
For this bread I used the large MS, and because it doesn't have a metal handle 
on the lid, I did wrap my knob in aluminum foil to protect it from the high heat 
the bread needs for the initial baking. That worked out fine.
For the second bake, with lid removed, in my oven I found that 10 minutes, no
 longer, was ample time to get the beautiful rich golden crisp crust, so watch carefully.

Let me know if you have made this bread or, if like me, you're late to the 
party, will perhaps give it a go! 
 You won't be sorry. 
Slicing into your very own home baked crunchy loaf will make your day I can assure you.


17 comments:

  1. It looks and sounds really very easy, and the result a perfect loaf of bread - I am almost tempted to make it :-)

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  2. Beautiful loaf Mary. I could live by bread alone.

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  3. Dear Mary, Your bread looks fantastic. I have been baking this bread for many years. It always comes out perfect. It is as good as any French bread that you might purchase in a French Bakery.

    I wrote a blog about it several years ago. It has a link to a small boy who is baking this same bread.

    http://ginaceramics.blogspot.com/search/label/Baking%20no%20knead%20bread

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  4. I have been doing this for a while now. Here is a link to mine!
    http://www.enjoyingthesimplethings.com/2014/10/23/holy-whole-wheat-bread-batman/

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  5. I wish I could reach in and slice off a heel, then eat it with butter and honey! I've not made this recipe, but I do enjoy making bread. I use Peter Reinhart's book - Artisan Breads Every Day.
    Your photo accessories also have me drooling (and thinking about my own Christmas list).

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  6. It looks yummy Mary. You forgot to mention the delicious smell of the freshly baked bead.

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  7. I've been familiar with this recipe for quite awhile! :-) Your bread looks absolutely perfect...I see those nice airy holes in it. I use King Arthur flour, too. It's the only flour I use for all my baking (which I don't do much of these days). I've also cut way back on gluten these days too, as it bloats me terribly, so unfortunately I won't be baking this bread right now. My mom is a huge bread baker...she makes all kinds of homemade breads. Right now she's into sourdough.

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  8. First step toward making this bread...watching the video and copying the recipe. Thank you!

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  9. Mary, it looks absolutely divine! I would love to start making bread at home. We've been learning/making some new meals...baking cookies over the next few weeks...but my, oh my, how I would LOVE to start baking bread! :)

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  10. I make lots of bread - and I must say - yours looks like bread perfection. I can almost taste it - maybe we need a fresh loaf tomorrow.

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  11. It looks perfect Mary and very moreish !!! .... trouble for me is that I have to have at least a pound of butter on each slice !!!! .... that's why I don't bake bread !!!!! XXXX

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  12. A home baked bread! What's better? Great photos of the making!

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  13. I am late to the party, but certainly will check it out. It looks absolutely delicious and I am such a bread addict.

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  14. Oh goodness I want to jump up and make some. I have to pin this so I don't loose it.
    It looks delicious. Maybe that's a bad think. HeHe. It was nice meeting you over a pan of yummy looking bread! Have a wonderful holiday!

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  15. Love to make bread and this looks good and easy Mary. Enjoy your trip home. Have a wonderful holiday. Maybe when you get back you might want to try one of the breads that I made in a pot. http://lakelurecottagekitchen.com/2015/01/26/fraudulent-sourdough-bread/
    Hugs, Penny

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  16. Just visited Jenny's blog and pinned the bread recipe, your loaf looks so delicious, I have to try this myself.

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