Chef Ben Says: Bake a loaf of bread

Why, you ask? It's the basicity, the simplicity, the elegance. The alchemic conversion of four mundane ingredients into sublime sustinence.

Wow, you might be thinking that's awfully flowery language for a loaf of bread. I might counter that while it may seem pedestrian to some, the combination of water, flour, salt and yeast is daunting to many, even a lot of self proclaimed great cooks.

So, as with many new ventures into cooking or baking, we will start with a recipe. I will be honest, I had to look it up. I haven't used it in so long, I couldn't remember it. That's because once you practice this procedure a few times, you'll never need a recipe to bake great bread again. It's that simple.

Basic White Bread

2 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (or bread machine yeast)

Around 3 cups flour

That's it. You might be inclined to whiz in a little pinch of sugar, some fancy herbs, or some grainy grains....Don't. Get yourself a few loaves of basic bread knocked out to utter perfection, then play. Little changes can make a big difference.

First, we mix. This is fundamentally the most important phase of baking anything. Fortunately, basic bread is very forgiving in this respect.

You can mix this in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Yes, you're going to work at it a bit, but going back to basics like this can also be very rewarding. I'm going to fire up my stand mixer...

First the water, then the flour, then salt, then yeast. You're mixing by hand, I'd probably start with the flour.

Keep mixing. How long? 7.47 minutes. No, wait, it doesn't work like that. We're going to continue to mix until enough flour has been incorporated to allow the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Like this:

How long that takes totally depends on speed of the mixer, relative humidity, type of flour and a host of other environmental factors. when it pulls off the side of the bowl, it's ready.

Now the magic of this recipe becomes apparent. Normally, we'd let this rest and begin the lengthy, soul fulfilling process of kneading and resting. My soul feels plenty fulfilled. How about we just put this into a mostly airtight container and just let it sit on the counter for about 12-18 hours. Yup, that's right, no kneading.

I like using these Cambro Camtainers with a corner of the lid popped.

The process of kneading is the traditional method of GLUTEN (omg no!!!!) formation. Without this villified protein, delicious yeast breads wouldn't have the structure to hold the carbon dioxide, which is what makes it rise. No gluten, no bready deliciousness. The method we're using here substitutes time for kneading. Over time the gluten will form on it's own, and the finished result will be a lovely mix of large and small bubbles characteristic of a good artisan bread. So we made the dough, now to shape it.

Lightly flour about a pound of dough. I like to use this cute little strainer on a parchment lined sheet pan.

Form the dough into a ball by gently rolling the outside towards the middle, which will also stretch the surface tight.

This is looking pretty good. Adorable, isn't it?

Pinch the seam to seal the bottom...

whack a few slashes in it...

Ready to proof and bake.

Proofing is the process of letting all the beautiful little bubbles you just created re-inflate so they bake up nice and light. There are a lot of ways to do it. A little plastic wrap, and a warm corner of your kitchen is effective. A basic oven with the light on isn't a bad environment, either. There are also many ovens out there with a proof mode that lets them run at 100 degrees. I'm going to use my Miele Professional Range with Moisture Plus steam assist, and Masterchef Plus bakng mode.

I'm so spoiled. Hey, this is the Lee Supply test kitchen, for Pete's sake. What can I say, we have the best toys here!

Yes, this is a balmy bath of steam gently caressing my bread loaf to perfectly risen perfection.

I swear you don't have to have this to bake amazing bread, but it sure helps.

If you don't happen to have one of these, try this method:

Get out your old cast-iron dutch oven with lid (or other very heavy pot with lid). Preheat the whole thing in your oven to 450 degrees, lid and all. When hot CAREFULLY drop the parchment paper with your proofed loaf into he preheated dutch oven. Put the lid back on. Turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake with the lid on for 20 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 25 minutes.

If you don't have a dutch oven, or suitable pot, use a bakestone preheated to 425 and bake for approximately 40 minutes.

If you don't have a bakestone, or a dutch oven, or any of this stuff, you should probably invest a little bit into your new hobby.

The result? A delightfuly crispy crust. Chewy, flavorful interior. Irregular nooks and crannies to hold all of your buttery deliciousness... A beautiful loaf of bread.

Cheers,

Chef Ben