Single Italian Crusty Loaf

I make a lot of bread.  In my humble opinion, I'm getting pretty good at it, such as 'it' is.

People, the dreaded "THEY", say you should make many loaves at one time if you're going to ALL that trouble.  Well, it is NO trouble to get a single delicious crusty flavorful crispy soft airy dense fantastic loaf of bread on your table.  If you think you might like to have a bread, cheese and wine lunch or if you want to have a fresh loaf for dinner, you really don't need much time, hardly ANY effort and the payoff is miraculous.


Sure, from beginning to end it takes a couple of hours but your actual investment in time of actually DOING something is about 3 minutes.

This is my 'go to' quickie crusty loaf.  It's delicious, doesn't use a machine and there's no fuss or muss with it. Trust me, you can do this, easy. Ok, here we go:

Tracy's Single Crusty Italian loaf

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast (ok, I heap it a bit)
1 cup warm(ish) water

Throw it all in a tub and stir it around.  It's VERY wet.  It's not like a normal bread dough at all, do not fret, it's supposed to be so yukky!!  Mix it around with a spoon then with a very wet hand, flip it over itself a couple of times if you feel the need to be more involved.  Put a lid on your container of choice and leave it for about 45 minutes? 60 minutes?  Until it poofs way up... check out my time lapse pics, just for you!

In the tub, nice action shot!  Seriously, just dump it all in and mix it up.  It's like superthick batter more than dough.  Don't fret, remember, I've got you here...
   
Put a lid on it.  This is my Home Depot mix bucket, perfect.  I took these pictures at 12 minute intervals, because 10 seemed too often and 15 seemed too far apart.  Don't judge, I've had a rough couple of months. This is a 48 minute rise.
   

   

Ok, that's risen enough, dump it onto a well floured board or cloth.  This is a linen bread cloth I treated myself to.  It's great but not worth the money at all.  I went to the fabric store, bought a piece of linen, cut it and it works just as well for a fraction of the price.  Still, since I make so much bread I thought I deserved the real thing. 

Dump it onto a board/cloth. It's gooey and VERY stringy, look at all that happy yeasty goodness.  Try not to squash the air completely out.  Just dust the top with flour and it won't stick if you're gentle, sprinkle lightly as needed but really, try to avoid adding too much, you're really just flipping it around here.

   
Fold it over with fingertips.  Roll it gently and then flatten it slightly in the middle with the side of your hand.
   
Flip/Roll the dough over so the folded side is down.  Tuck the sides, top and bottom under a bit to make it neat, cover it with a towel and leave it.
  
Night night! AND, here it is about 30 minutes later.  A little poofy.  Lovely. 

Roll it gently onto a floured or cornmeal covered peel.  The seam side is up now and that is what will give the loaf it's signature pull apart seam, you'll see.
   
Slide it into a 450 degree oven, on a stone OR you can use a cookie sheet. and bake it about 40 minutes.  Spin it at 15 minutes and then flip it upside down for the last 5-10.  Pull it out and LOOK what you did!

See what I mean about the seam giving it the pullapart line down the middle?  Oh yeah, we're pros now!  No slashing with knives or razor blades, just let it proof seam side down and bake it seam side up.  Ya Baby!
   

BEAUTIFUL!  it's crusty, tasty, light, crisp, airy, flavorful and WAY easier than getting into your car to drive to the store to find a crusty loaf that doesn't taste ANYWHERE near as good as this.This is the underneath, mmm  so crusty and wonderful.

Just for you, I cut into it to show you the innards.  I ALWAYS wait at LEAST 20 minutes before cutting into any bread, it is still cooking in there and cutting it can give you a gooey loaf, not this time though, oh man look at this...... 

I can't even tell you how good it is.  Even if you aren't a bready, you HAVE to admire the crumb on this loaf, the crust to innard ratio,you know how good it is just by looking. 

The crust is crisp and crunchy and the middle is soft soft and airy and full of flavor.  you NEED to make this.  Here's my standard beauty shots.  Oh and we had to taste without and with butter, just for science :)  

      

Go one, go make yourself a single loaf, it's so easy, doesn't need any machinery and you'll be delighted with how delicious it is.  

/enjoy

NEW Single White Loaf , Farmhouse style

Recipe below, play by play pictures coming... in the mean time, look at what came out of my oven:





To get an idea of the scale...



Oh and I didn't make it in a loaf pan! I made it in a restaurant steamer pan!!!!! OH YES I DID! I couldn't get a pan with the dimensions I wanted in the USA, the shipping for a "Farmhouse" loaf pan from the UK was going to be twice the cost of the pan and that just bugged me. SO, when I was at the restaurant supply store moaning about their lack of high sided loaf pans, I had a total epiphany!!

HEY, I said, I LOVE LOVE the steamer pans for roasting vegetables and chickens I bought there. It cooks perfectly evenly, is stainless steel and nothing, absolutely nothing, sticks to it. I thought, HEY, why not see if they have a size that I could use for white bread and they DID!

It's a 1/4 size I think, it's 4 inches deep(!) and 8 inches long and about 4 inches wide. EXACTLY what I wanted. I'm going back to buy more so I no longer have to play wait for the pan I love the best and can retire the old rusted nasty pan I usually make my loaves in. This is...perfection.



OK, here's the recipe, it's so very easy and so much more delicious than any white bread I've ever made before. I have tested this many times and had testers try it... it's a good one ;)

TRACY'S ENGLISH STYLE FARMHOUSE WHITE LOAF
*You CAN make this by hand, I use the Kitchen aid, just use a spoon until it's too hard to work then knead until a smooth dough, no Kitchen aid is no excuse not to make this!*

4 cups (450 grams) all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons cold butter *unsalted
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
300 ml room temperature liquid *I do 200 ml warm water + 100 ml 2% milk

METHOD:

IN the bowl of a Kitchen aid with a dough hook, combine the flour and butter.  RUB the butter into the flour like you are making biscuits or pastry. You don't want any chunks of butter, this must be totally combined. 

ADD the yeast, salt, sugar and MIX around with your hands.

ADD liquid all at once.

COMBINE on slow speed until combined, it should completely clear the sides of the bowl. Then turn on high and knead for 4 minutes to make the dough a smooth, soft, dough.

Butter the dough lightly and put in a box/bowl with a lid (or a bowl with cling film) and leave to double. *mine takes 45 minutes.

Gently transfer dough to a lightly floured board and flatten with fingertips. Roll into a loaf shape and put into a lightly buttered/sprayed pan. Leave to double. *mine takes about 45 minutes.

Bake at 450, for 30 minutes.  I turn it a couple of times during cooking.  I don't spray the oven, loaf or put ice in with this bread.  If it's getting too brown, put a piece of tinfoil over the loaf. 

Leave to cool on a rack, removed from the pan, until completely cool before you slice this. It's soft and sweet and the crust is just hard enough to hold it but soft enough to yield. Yeah, you're going to LOVE this, I want to see pictures of your bread!! 

Let me know how much you love this bread.

**I like a TALL loaf and have been using a steam table insert pan, stainless steel, that measures 8x4x4 inches. Previous to my ephiphany, I used a standard loaf pan. This also makes ridiculously good little rolls**

Alrighty now, go make it.

/tracy

White Bread, my Daily Bread

 

I've had loads and loads of people ask about the white bread loaf I make.  I've passed the recipe along but here is the pictures, the play by play.

In the bowl of your kitchenaid 

1 cup of warm milk, 1 T sugar, 2 T melted butter, 2 T vegetable oil, 2 1/4 tsp yeast.  Mix and leave it there to come to life!

 

ADD 1 egg, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 3 cups flour.

MIX slowly with dough hook to combine

 

This looks a little sticky so I shake in 1/4 cup of flour
 

There, that looks better
 

CRANK up to high and let it go for 5 minutes
 

After 5 minutes, it's soft and has cleared the bottom of the bowl!


Put on lightly floured surface and flatten it, knead it a couple of times and turn it into a ball
  

I put a dollop of room temperature butter on the top of the ball, smear it around with my hands then gently roll and and pull the dough ball under itself which distributes the butter all the way around. Roll it around in your hand creating a smooth surface and it'll feel lovely and happy.

(*I will do a video because I've been asked)

 

I put it in a plastic container to rise, these don't need to be greased at all, pop a lid on and I put in the oven with the light on for 60 minutes.
 

After 1 hour, look how HAPPY it is!!  It's easily tripled.   THANK you, bread dough, you DO love me!


On a lightly floured board, dump it out (the corners make me giggle).  Flatten it with your hands, fingertips actually then fold it into 3rds
  

Fold the top third down and the bottom third up.  Then turn it 90 degrees.
  

Flatten it a bit then roll from the bottom, tightly, (keep the edges even!) and seal the edge over.  Pinch it hard!
  

I roll it lightly in flour and put it, seam side down, in a greased loaf tin.  Sorry mine is really grotty but I love the bread this makes and the shape is right.
 

In the oven with the light on with a dry towel, for 45 minutes, then peek.
 

OH HAPPY risen bread!!


Pop it into a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. If your oven isn't completely even, spin it at 20 minutes.

Remove from oven.  *LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS IS!* and remove from pan immediately and leave to cool.
 

THAT is how I make my daily bread, every 3rd day or so.  I hope you make it, I hope you love it, I hope you show me how yours comes out!

(You CAN substitute 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for a/p if you feel but do not substitute a higher percentage!!)

/enjoy!