Wednesday, October 20, 2010

New Bread-making Efforts

Russ bought me this book for my birthday. I used to make a lot of bread, but haven't in a long while. I often start thinking about dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon and by then its too late to make bread that will be ready for dinner at 5:30. This book offers a whole new method for making bread. Instead of taking three hours  start to finish, this book gives instructions for making a large batch of high-moisture dough, no kneading required, and keeping it in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you want to eat bread, you cut off a lump of dough, shape it, let it rise for 40 minutes and bake it. I've been impressed with the results, though I've only made the first recipe.
 
The great thing about this approach is that the longer you leave the dough in the fridge, the more flavor it acquires, akin to sourdough bread. Russ and I have tried keeping a sourdough starter a few times and they are a lot of work. This method really is an easier, tastier bread. Alas, my loaf doesn't look quite as perfect as the loaf on the cover, but I'm determined to get there.