Bread is so basic, yet what beats the aroma of freshly baked bread filling the kitchen? There are two types — yeast bread and soda bread. I’ll give you one of each here — both made in rather unconventional ways.
If you haven’t tried to bake your own, I encourage you to. It’s satisfying, and the varieties of flour, other additions, and forms they can take can jazz up your mealtimes. Not to mention, the nutritional value beats that soft airy loaf you buy at the grocery store. You know exactly what goes into your masterpiece. No chemicals or transfats. Pure, wholesome, and delicious.
No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread
I first heard about this bread, which calls for only four ingredients and no kneading, from several sources online. My first was from Paula Fowler, a former director of the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce. Paula lives in Kentucky now, and we stay in touch on Facebook. Paula says, “I am completely obsessed with this bread. This is insanely easy. It literally took two minutes to stir together. Let it sit overnight and bake in the morning.”
This is a great way to get your kids introduced to bread making, and yourself if you’ve never made bread in your life!
Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tsp coarse (Kosher) salt (or 1 3/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp dry instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Directions
Special cookware needed: Dutch oven or any large oven-safe dish/bowl and lid
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t overwork. Cover bowl and set aside for 8-18 hours or overnight till risen and bubbly-looking on top.
2. When dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place your Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3. While your Dutch oven preheats (no greasing needed), turn dough onto a well-floured surface and, with floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.
4. After 30 minutes, carefully remove Dutch oven to a hot pad or rack. Remove the plastic wrap from dough, and with floured hands, place the dough into the hot pan. (Place a piece of parchment under the dough if your dish isn’t enamel-coated.)
5. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 7-15 minutes, uncovered, till golden brown and crusty.
6. Cool about a half-hour and slice with a bread knife. Enjoy
Skillet Cornbread
This bread uses toasted cornmeal that makes it extra good tasting, plus it is gluten-free since it contains no wheat flour. It is a soda bread that requires no kneading—just a little jockeying around of pans.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups cornmeal (I prefer Arrow Mills as it is organic and not genetically modified)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lite olive oil (not extra-virgin)
4 Tbs butter
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
Directions
1. Set oven racks to middle and lower middle positions and heat oven to 450°. When hot, place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on the middle rack for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, spread cornmeal in a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven on the lower rack about 5 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Mix with sour cream and milk.
3. Add oil to skillet in oven and heat another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add butter. Melt and pour it, mixed with the oil, into the batter in bowl.
4. Whisk in remaining ingredients with eggs being last. Quickly scrape into hot skillet and smooth the top of batter.
5. Transfer skillet to middle rack of oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating to lower rack midway through. Bread is done when edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes. Best served immediately, but will keep a few days in the refrigerator—if it lasts that long!
I was pleased to see so many visitors to my blog (acooksjournalblog.wordpress.com) after my last column was published. I was a bit late posting that column, but I hope you will return to check it out along with the many “bonus” recipes I added to the post.
This week’s column will be posted by Friday afternoon and will include a bonus recipe for Tabouli Bread and more. Click to follow me to get all my posts sent to your inbox, print recipes, and make comments on any post. I would love to hear from you.
Connie grew up in Philadelphia where she was raised on cheese steaks, soft pretzels, hoagies, and Pennsylvania Dutch sticky buns where she honed her love of food. She moved to Maine in 1972. She has been creating in the kitchen and at the typewriter for over 40 years. Her philosophy is “moderation in everything, including moderation.” Connie lives with her husband, Jerry, and their cats, Pinky and Elvis, on Madawaska Lake.
