This, for those who weren't at playgroup today, is following the same method from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. And for Lori, who I never offered a taste to. Sorry, Lori.
Makes three 1 1/2 pound loaves.
(I made a 2 pound loaf in a 9x5 loaf pan instead of the 9x4x3 they call for. It had to bake an extra 5 min)
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (I've started only using 1 T in every kind of these breads)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I used salted but since I cut back the salt it don't matter), melted, plus additional for brushing the top crust
7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Neutral-tasting oil or softened butter for greasing baking pan
1. Mix the same way as the boule dough (for anyone who wants more instruction, leave a comment) in your bucket.
2. Rise on counter, covered with lid, for approx. 2 hours, until dough rises and flattens on top.
3. Refrigerate for up to 7 days.
4. On baking day, cut off a 1 1/2 pound (cantaloupe size) piece (I weighed my whole bucket on my kitchen scale and cut off enough until it was -2 pounds from the bucket). Dust with flour, and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Elongate the ball into an oval.
5. Drop the dough into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half-full (I kind of squashed it flat so it would rise into the corners better b/c last time I used one of these doughs in a loaf pan it was huge in the middle, and not on the edges).
6. Let rest in pan for 1 hour and 40 min (or just 40 min if using fresh dough).
7. Dust the loaf with flour and slash the top, using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the top surface with melted butter.
8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 F. If you are not using a stone in the oven, 5 min is adequate. A baking stone is not essential when using a loaf pan.
9. Bake the bread near the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Allow to cool completely before slicing, or it will be nearly impossible to achieve reasonable sandwich slices.
found on page 204 of the book, but I didn't copy it exactly. Just so I am covered for not plagerizing for giving credit :)
