Crusty Artisan Bread Food

CRUSTY PARMESAN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler to low. In a small bowl, mix the butter, mayonnaise and cheese, then season with salt and pepper.
• Cut the baguette in half both crossways and horizontally. Evenly spread cheese mixture on the bread. Place on a baking sheet and broil until golden, about 3 minutes.

NO-KNEAD CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Stir in water using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy but cohesive dough. Do not over-work the dough. The less you "work" it, the more soft, fluffy air pockets will form.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours*. Dough will bubble up and rise.
• After dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place your Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• While your Dutch oven preheats, turn dough onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.
• After the 30 minutes are up, carefully remove Dutch oven. With floured hands, place the bread dough into it. (You can put a piece of parchment under the dough if your Dutch oven isn't enamel coated.)
• Replace cover and bake for 30 minutes covered. Carefully remove cover and bake for 7-15 minutes* more, uncovered.
• Carefully remove bread to a cutting board and slice with a bread knife.
• Enjoy!
• Uncovered baking time depends on your oven. In my oven, the bread only needs 7 minutes uncovered until crusty and golden brown, but this can vary. Just keep an eye on it!
• Preheating your Dutch oven to 450 degrees F will not damage it, or the knob on top.
• I've let this dough rise anywhere between 8-24 hours and it has baked up beautifully. Just make sure it has risen and appears to "bubble" to the surface.
• There's no need to grease the Dutch oven/baking dish/pot
• . My bread has never stuck to the pot. If you are concerned though, put a piece of parchment paper under your dough before placing into your pot.
• I do not recommend using whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour in this recipe. The resulting bread will be very dense, and not as fluffy and delicious.
• I used a 5.5 quart enameled cast iron Le Creuset pot, but you can use any large oven-safe dish and cover. All of these also work: a baking dish covered with aluminum foil, crockpot insert, stainless steel pot with a lid, pizza stone with an oven-safe bowl to cover the bread, and old cast iron Dutch oven.
• Add any mix-ins you like - herbs, spices, dried fruit, chopped nuts and cheese all work well. I recommend adding them into the initial flour-yeast mixture to avoid over-working the mix-ins into the dough. The less you "work" it, the more you're encouraging soft, fluffy air pockets to form!

CRUSTY HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Using a rubber spatula, stir in 3-1/2 cups flour and salt to form a soft, sticky dough. Do not knead. Cover and let rise at room temperature 1 hour., Stir down dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto a floured surface; with floured hands pat into a 9-in. square. Fold square into thirds, forming a 9x3-in. rectangle. Fold rectangle into thirds, forming a 3-in. square. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough and repeat folding process. Return dough to bowl; refrigerate, covered, overnight., Grease the bottom of a disposable foil roasting pan with sides at least 4 in. high; dust pan with cornmeal. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead gently 6-8 times; shape into a 6-in. round loaf. Place into prepared pan; dust top with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Cover pan and let rise at room temperature until dough expands to a 7-1/2-in. loaf, about 1-1/4 hours. , Preheat oven to 500°. Using a sharp knife, make a slash (1/4 in. deep) across top of loaf. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake on lowest oven rack 25 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 450°. Remove foil; bake bread until deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove loaf to a wire rack to cool.

TRADITIONAL ARTISAN STYLE BAGUETTE - RUSTIC FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Place the yeast, honey and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt and the flour. Use a wooden spoon to stir 2 cups of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture; stir in the remaining flour mixture (dough will be stiff).
• Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead with floured hands until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Add a little flour, 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking.
• Place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap (or a clean kitchen towel) and leave to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
• Gently punch dough down to deflate it and shape into two oblong baguettes. Dust tops lightly with flour and place on a lightly greased baking sheet; let rise uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Use a serrated knife to cut 3-5 small diagonal slits across the tops of the baguettes, and lightly sprinkle with cool water.
• Bake in the middle of oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Best eaten the same day.

CRUSTY BREAD MACHINE JALAPEñO CHEESE ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in bread machine in the order according to the manufacturer's directions.
• Use the regular bread cycle raisin cycle.
• Add chopped jalapeño and cheese when the raisin cycle indicated it is time to add.
• Let cool on rack before slicing.