You may have another - please share. You may have a ingredient variation - please share. You may have a mixing/baking tip - please share!
The talk on the thread was that a dutch oven is perfect for baking this bread. I will say that I have also just used a larger sized Pyrex covered casserole dish with very good results.
Favorite ingredient variations in our house include:
Cheddar and Herb (fresh herbs if I have them) (mixed in before the liquid)
Rosemary lemon Gruyere
My tip: don’t forget to plan ahead! Mix up the day before you want to have it to eat. So if you want it for breakfast, mix up the afternoon/evening before that morning.
I just recently, FINALLY, made this bread. It is beyond amazing. I’ve known about it for years, but I have a bred recipe that I bake every week and it was just easier to bake the recipe I have memorized. The first loaf I baked using parchment paper since several sites I looked at recommended it. Fail! The bread stuck to the paper. So the second time I just put it straight into he hot pan and had good success.
Since we are trying to eat more protein, I think I"ll try the added cheese version. I did make it with whole wheat (1 cup) and found it to be just fine. Next time I’ll try 1/2 and 1/2. I bake 100% whole wheat bread every week, so we are quite used to that flavor.
We used to make a version of this regularly. Delicious. We stopped because it was too good and we’d gobble it up if it was in the house. I’m not good at portion control when it comes to fresh bread in the house.
Typically, we just made a plain version. I’m a purist when it comes to bread. I like to put stuff on it rather than in it. It also made it more flexible for using with jam for breakfast or savory sandwiches. I like the looks of the cranberry version in your link, though.
I do realize now that I make a different version. You can use a dutch oven (no lid) or a cast iron pan. In the version I use, you use a pan of boiling water to create steam in the oven to create a nice crispy crust. My version also requires only 3-4 or so hours of rising/sitting time. It makes a lot of dough that you can let sit in the fridge for days, portion out and get many small loaves from. http://www.honeyandjam.com/2010/01/crusty-white-bread.html
@MaterS Check Home Goods and Marshalls. They often have Le Creuset pieces. They are so sturdy I can’t imagine in problem with them in outlets. I’d just check the surface for chipping.
I’ve bought at the LeCreuset outlet and have had no problems nor do my pieces have blemishes. I would ask an outlet employee what the distinction is between outlet goods and first quality. I’m actually kind of curious now as I didn’t really think about it when I made my purchases.
@MaterS - I’ve bought quite a number of items from the LeCreuset outlet. Ive purchased both cast iron items and ceramic. I’ve also purchased from Marshalls. What I like about the outlet store is they have a great selection whereas Marshalls is hit or miss.
The way to save the most at the outlet is to not be picky about the color. Some colors will be 20% off where other colors can be up to 40% off. I bought my D a beautiful cast iron aqua colored dutch oven at the outlet that I’ve put away for Chanukah. I think it was 40% off.
I would love to try the bread recipe. I need to try it when I have some kids home. I love fresh bread and I could eat an entire loaf.
I’ve been baking this bread for a while now and love that the dough is quickly made up the day before and ready for the oven in the AM. We like to add fresh chopped basil and kalamata olives. I also like to use my sourdough starter for flavor.
I like the plain version the best, actually, but I also like it with cheddar or fresh herbs or herbs and cheese. If you are a Penzey’s customer, a tablespoon of the buttermilk herb salad dressing base is a great addition, but cut back on the salt. I also like it with apple. I add about 1 tsp of cinnamon to the flour, as well as about 1 heaping tbs of sugar, brown or white. It doesn’t make a sweet dough, but compensates for the tartness a little and melds well with the apple and cinnamon. I add 1-2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into largish dice to the flour. You may want to cut back slightly on the water, since the apples will exude some juice.
My dog particularly likes the cheddar. She ate an entire loaf when I made two loaves, one cheddar and one other and left them cooling on the counter while I went out for 20 minutes.
I infinitely prefer this version to fooling around with pans of boiling water, ice cubes on the oven floor, brushing the crust with water, spray bottles and all of the other methods of trying to get that crusty exterior, none of which I have found to work as well.
I don’t use parchment paper. Maybe with the apple version, but not the others.
“I infinitely prefer this version to fooling around with pans of boiling water, ice cubes on the oven floor, brushing the crust with water, spray bottles and all of the other methods of trying to get that crusty exterior, none of which I have found to work as well.”
Place two aluminum pie pans filled with lava rocks on the bottom rack of the oven while it heats up. Pour one cup of water into each pan after the oven reaches temp and you will have a fantastic steam oven. The lava rocks will maintain moist heat for the entire bake. (I don’t do this anymore after discovering the dutch oven method which traps steam while the bread bakes and produces the same crusty result, and beautiful “ears,” too.)
@GRITS80 I was at the Le Creuset outlet today. Their items are first quality and full warranty. The outlet items have a type A phenolic knob with a maximum use temperature of 390F whereas the full price items at a kitchen store have a type B phenolic knob with a maximum use temperature of 500F. Also the handles have a slightly different shape.
I bought a Dutch oven in my preferred color for 30% off retail. Then I bought a Tarte tatin dish because I have been making savory tarte tatins lately.
Do most people use parchment paper when making the bread?
Just found this thread - yay! Been making the five-minutes-a-day artisan recipe for years. Never deviate and have it memorized. Kids love love love it. I’ll have to find time to incorporate cheese, maybe some garlic, yummo!
I use an Italian loaf pan I got from Amazon a few years ago (it’s Fox Run 4629 Italian Bread Pan, Tin-Plated Steel, 15-Inch - don’t think I can link) and the metal pitted something fierce, but since I always use parchment paper, I don’t care.
I also put a baking pan in the bottom of the oven, snip several cuts in the top of the loaves with kitchen shears, then throw in some ice cubes into the hot pan when I’m sliding in the loaf pan, and get a lovely crust.
I use a lot of flour on a granite counter during the “resting” phase and while scooping up the dough, so it is self-floured.
The lava rocks idea sounds interesting, and might enable one to make the bread using a baguette pan. I’ve tried everything for producing crusty baguettes, and the crust is never as excellent as the dutch oven method.
I’m sure lava rocks are cheaper than a steam oven, LOL.
