Don’t Fight The Urge For Artisan Bread

Don’t be afraid to make and enjoy bread at home. Homemade artisan bread can be used in hundreds of different ways and making it at home allows you to control the usage of preservatives and other unwanted elements.

Ingredients  

• 1½ cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• Cornmeal for dusting

For the Garlic & Herbed Infused Dipping Oil

• 1/2 cup good quality olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and basil blend
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Instructions

1. In a tall plastic container fill 1½ cups warm water about 100 degrees F.
2. Add yeast and sugar then stir and leave to proof for about 10 minutes.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixed, whisk together flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add your yeast mixture.
4. With the dough hook attachment, blend the flour and yeast together until a soft sticky dough forms.
5. Cover and place in a warm dark place. I pre-heated the oven to it’s lowest temperature then turned it off. I covered my bowl and place the dough in the warm oven to rise for about 2 hours.
6. Once the dough has risen, flour the surface and gently turn the dough over onto a well floured surface. DO NOT punch the dough down.
7. Divide the dough with kitchen shears into two loaves.
8. Quickly cloak and shape the dough without kneading it. To do so, be sure to sprinkle extra flour on top of your dough.
9. Gently stretch the the surface of the dough to the bottom on all four sides. Note that some of the flour will fall off, but that’s fine. This flour is to keep the dough from sticking to your hands, not to be incorporated.
10. The loaves should be smooth on top but the bottom will be bunched from pull the dough over. This will flatten out during the resting and baking process.
11. Lay the prepared loaves on a pizza peel or baking stone dusted with cornmeal.
12. Leave the loaves to rest for 10-15 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
14. Before baking, gently slice the top of each loaf . Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.
15. Remove the bread and let cool on a cooling rack.

For the Garlic & Herbed Infused Dipping Oil:

1. In small oven proof bowl or ramekin, combine all the ingredients for the dipping oil.
2. In the last 5 minutes of the bread baking, place the oil in the oven.
3. Once the oil is bubbling, remove and let cool.
4. Serve alongside the fresh bread.

Recipe source: The Living Gourmet

Photo source: Bruno’s Dream