Crusty Mini Loaves Food

EASY CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
• Add the flour and salt then knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes.
• The dough will be slightly sticky but shouldn't be wet. If it is, add 1-2 tbsp flour and knead in.
• Bring the dough together into a ball with your hand. Dust over 1-2 tbsp flour (you want it to be well covered).
• Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size. Leaving the dough in a warm spot will aid the rising.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Place a pot (dutch oven) with a lid into the oven to preheat.
• When the dough has proved, turn it out onto a floured surface. Fold the edges into the center of the dough then place into a floured bowl, seam side down. Dust over more flour.
• Cover with the tea towel and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
• Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Transfer the dough to the pot and cover with the lid.
• Place in the oven and allow to bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
• Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes (or until it has cooled to room temperature) before slicing and serving.

CRUSTY MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place the first six ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed)., When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four portions; shape into 6-in. loaves. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cut slits in the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

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!

GRUYERE STUFFED CRUSTY LOAVES

Steps:

• To make the starter: Mix the flour, salt, yeast and water in a medium size bowl. Mix till well combined; the starter will be very dry. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature.
• To make the dough: combine the risen starter with the water, salt, pizza dough flavoring, flour and yeast. Knead - by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle - to make a smooth dough. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till it's nearly doubled in bulk.
• Gently deflate the dough, and pat and stretch it into a 3/4" thick rectangle about 9 x 12". Spritz with water and sprinkle with grated cheese as well as garlic oil and pizza dough flavoring if you have chosen to use them. Starting with a long side, roll it into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Place the log seam side down on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface. cover it and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours till it's puffy though not doubled in bulk. Towards the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 425.
• Gently cut the log into 4 crosswise slices, for mini loaves or simply cut the dough in half for two normal size loaves. Place them on one (for 2 loaves) or 2 (for 4 mini loaves) lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit, if necessary to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz them with warm water and immediately place in preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes for mini loaves or 35 minutes for full size loaves, or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

CRUSTY MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• Place first 7 ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
• Select dough setting.
• When dough is done, turn out and divide into four 6-inch loaves.
• Place onto a greased baking sheet.
• Cut three slits into top of each loaf with kitchen scissors.
• Place in warm place and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Beat the egg yolk with the teaspoon of water and brush the top of each loaf.
• Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until golden.

AMY'S CRUSTY ITALIAN LOAF

Steps:

• Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.
• Add the cool water and sponge starter to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for about 2 minutes, breaking up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.
• Add the flour and salt and mix with your fingers to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the ingredients together until the dough gathers into a mass. It will be wet and sticky, with long strands of dough hanging from your fingers. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
• Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth. This is a sticky, wet dough; don't be tempted to add more flour to the work surface. Just dust lightly and use a dough scraper as necessary to loosen the dough from the table during kneading. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered with oiled plastic wrap. (This rest period is the autolyse.)
• Knead the dough 3 to 5 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth, yet still slightly sticky. Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature (75 to 77 degrees) for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks slightly puffy but has not doubled.
• Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or preferably, overnight to let it relax, develop flavor, and become more manageable.
• Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.
• Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, about 13 ounces each. Gently flatten one piece, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter. Now form the loaf into a short baguette by rolling the dough over from left to right and sealing the seam with the heel of your palm. Fold the dough over about 1/ 3 of the way each time, seal the length of the loaf, then repeat. You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the loaf while leaving some air bubbles in the dough.
• Seal the seam, being careful not to tear the skin of the dough or deflate its airy structure. Do not elongate. These loaves are about 10 inches long. Cover an area on the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place the loaf, seam side down, on the flour. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. The loaves will be loose and slightly irregular in shape. Leave plenty of space between the loaves they will spread as they rise. Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours, until bubbly and loose.
• Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and position an oven rack just below the stone.
• Sprinkle a peel very generously with cornmeal. Line an upsidedown baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle very generously with cornmeal. Lift one loaf, flip it over so the floured side is on top, and gently tug on the ends to stretch the loaf to the full length of the peel, or about 14 inches on a pan. Repeat with the remaining loaves, placing 2 on the peel and 1 on the pan. Dimple each loaf with your finger in about 6 places, but don't deflate them too much. Be sure the loaves are loosened from the peel, then carefully slide them onto the baking stone. Place the pan of bread on the rack below the stone. Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves with water 8 to 10 times, then quickly shut oven door. Mist the loaves again after 1 minute. Then mist again 1 minute later.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown. (If the crust is not brown enough, the loaves will soften as they cool.) Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
• Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes until a smooth, somewhat elastic batter has formed. The batter will be very stiff; it gets softer and more elastic after it has proofed. You may find it easier to mix the sponge using an electric mixer, with a paddle or a dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sponge into a 2-quart clear plastic container and cover with plastic wrap. At this point you have two options:
• If you plan to make your dough later that same day, let the sponge rest at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to collapse. This may take 6 to 8 hours, depending on the temperature of the room and the strength of the yeast. The sponge will triple in volume and small dents will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate. The sponge is now in perfect condition to be used in a dough. It's best if you have already weighted or measured out all of your other recipe ingredients before the sponge reaches this point so you can use it before it collapses too much.
• If you're not planning to make your dough until the next day or the day after, put the covered sponge in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use in a recipe. Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water (85 degrees to 90 degrees F) in the dough instead of the cool water specified in the bread recipe. Or let the starter sit out, covered until it reaches room temperature (this may take several hours), but don't let it collapse too much before you use it.
• Yield: 28 ounces

GRUYERE-STUFFED CRUSTY LOAVES

Steps:

• To make the starter: Mix the 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a medium-sized bowl. Mix till well combined; the starter will be very dry. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature; it'll become bubbly.2) To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, flour, and yeast. Knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a smooth dough. 3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till it's nearly doubled in bulk. 4) Gently deflate the dough, and pat and stretch it into a 3/4"-thick rectangle, about 9" x 12". Spritz with water, and sprinkle with the grated cheese. 5) Starting with a long side, roll it into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Place the log, seam-side down, on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface. 6) Cover it and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it's puffy though not doubled in bulk. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F. 7) Gently cut the log into four crosswise slices, for mini-breads; or simply cut the dough in half, for two normal-sized loaves. Place them on one (for two loaves) or two (for four mini-loaves) lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit, if necessary, to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz with warm water, and immediately place them in the preheated oven. 8) Bake for 20 minutes (for the mini-loaves), or 35 minutes (for the full-sized loaves), or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.