This is the most basic recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. Five minutes may be optimistic, but with some very small amount of time a day you can have some really fabulous bread that’s great for snacking with some cheddar cheese or peanut butter for several days. This recipe is easily cut in half or in thirds to make a smaller amount of dough, and less loaves.

Best snack ever!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (1 1/2 packets)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• cornmeal for dusting

When measuring flour, the most accurate way to get the right amount is to fluff the flour a bit with a spoon, then spoon it into the measuring cup and sweep off excess to get a level cup.

In a large bowl or container, stir together the water, salt, and yeast. Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, stirring just until all the flour is incorporated.

This was a 1/3 batch.

Cover and let rise somewhere warm for two hours, up to five hours if that works better with your schedule. You can use the dough now, or loosely cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Same 1/3 batch.

When ready to use, coat a pizza peel with cornmeal. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with a bit of flour, then pull out a grapefruit sized piece. Gently stretch the surface of the dough down to the bottom four times, rotating a quarter turn between each, to form a ball.

Let the ball rise on your cornmeal coated pizza peel for forty minutes. I don’t have a pizza peel, but a well cornmeal-ed plate works well enough.

Halfway through the rising time, place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven, and an empty broiler tray on the bottom shelf. Again, I don’t have a pizza stone either (although I plan on getting one at some point), but the lid to my roommate’s cast iron dutch oven worked just as well. Preheat the oven, with the pizza stone and broiler pan, to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to a knife, then slash an X or a tic-tac-toe pattern in the top of loaf with a bread knife.

When you’re ready to cook, fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of hot water. Open the oven door and flick the loaf off your pizza peel(/plate) onto the pizza stone with a quick jerk of your wrist. Quickly pour the water into the broiler pan on the lower shelf in your oven, then shut the door and bake 30 minutes. If you have a long oven glove, it’s a good idea to wear it to protect your arm from steam when you add the water.

After half an hour, remove the bread from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Ok, so, you don't need to cut slashes quite so deep...

The flavor and texture will improve if you let it cool completely before cutting, but who has the self control for that??

If you want a sandwich loaf, then once you’ve formed the dough into a ball, stretch it a bit into an oval and place in a well greased non-stick bread pan. Let rise 1 hour 40 minutes if refrigerated, or just 40 if the dough is fresh.

Place a broiler tray on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Slash the top of the loaf.

Place the loaf in the preheated oven, and pour 1 cup of water in the broiler tray. Bake 35 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a rack.

It’s delicious! I’m a big fan.

Boule

From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (1 1/2 packets)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• cornmeal for dusting

In a large bowl or container, stir together the water, salt, and yeast. Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, stirring just until all the flour is incorporated. Cover and let rise somewhere warm for two hours, or up to five hours. Use dough immediately or refrigerate up to two weeks.

When ready to use, coat a pizza peel with cornmeal. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with a bit of flour, then cut off a grapefruit sized piece. Gently stretch the surface of the dough down to the bottom four times, rotating a quarter turn between each, to form a ball. Let the ball rise on your cornmeal coated pizza peel for forty minutes.

Halfway through the rising time, place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven, and an empty broiler tray on the bottom shelf. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to a knife, then slash an X or a tic-tac-toe pattern in the top of loaf with a bread knife.

Fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of hot water. Open the oven door and flick the loaf off your pizza peel onto the pizza stone with a quick jerk of your wrist. Quickly pour the water into the broiler pan then shut the door and bake 30 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.