Bread, Bread, Bread... and then a quick dessert.

Here at Tramp’s Camp we like to cook. And one thing that I have enjoyed is making bread. I have three bread machines, all very different, that I picked up at yard sales. Wouldn’t you know it – my favorite one cost only $0.50 cents – and it had been used maybe just a time or two. But it had a slightly damaged hinge on one side and the lid would not stay closed tight. Well, I remedied that with bungee cords and it has been working great for years. But several years ago I departed from the bread machine loaf and started making more rustic breads. I still used the machine to make the dough, but then shaped the dough and did the second rise and baking in the conventional oven, on a baking stone.

Now Tramp 1 has gotten involved and we are making the most incredible rustic no knead bread without any machine and very little people power. In the past few weeks there have been some seven loafs of this great bread baked here. Several versions of this bread recipe have been floating around the blog world for a few years now. I was turned on to it by a friend at the same time Tramp 1 found his version at http://www.castirondude.com/ – a manly cooking blog he likes to read. This bread is so easy and makes a wonderful rustic loaf that would cost in the $4.00 – 5.00 range in most stores. Why not make a loaf and try it for yourselves?

Rustic No Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 5/8 cups water
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger. (I use parchment paper instead of a towel to put the dough on – then I just cover it with a dishtowel. The best parchment paper is Wilton with Silicone but other brands will work if you use a good sprinkling of cornmeal underneath the dough. You can reuse each piece three times.)

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. (See note below) When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. (We only preheat the bowl until the oven is up to temp – saves energy and has worked fine for us.) Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Note: Selecting a proper baking pan means finding a round baking dish that can handle lots of heat and has a lid. In the original recipe, a Le Creuset dutch oven was recommended, in the 4 to 5 quart size. If you have such an implement, by all means use it. This cast iron enameled pot is perfect. However if you do not already own one they are not cheap, costing well over $150. A tip - place foil over the knob on the lid to protect it from the extreme heat. There are other less expensive alternatives. Some on Internet sites have recommended a clay baking pot like a Romertopf, the inside of a crock-pot (the crock part), Corningware or Pyrex. Many though have warned that Pyrex could be dangerous and possibly shatter, so use at your own risk! You can buy a 5-quart bowl and use a Pyrex pie plate as a lid - a $10.00 solution. As Pyrex ages, it becomes more likely to shatter due to the continuous heating and cooling, so if you go the Pyrex route, buy new.

We use the Pampered Chef stoneware bowl with the stoneware quiche type pan as a lid (both second hand). You could check the thrift stores for some sort of stoneware pan to use. We also have the Romertopf clay bakers that we need to test for bread – I picked up a couple at yard sales. We feel the stoneware or clay pots give you a great loaf of bread and require no clean up.

We have made this recipe replacing one cup of the white flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour and it turned out well. The bread actually seemed to be moister than the regular loaf and had a nice nutty flavor. We are currently using special high altitude whole wheat flour – Hungarian Brand Stone Ground Style.

So get busy and bake away – plan to pop a couple of other things in that hot oven before or after you have baked your bread. Maybe a quick and inexpensive cobbler might be a good choice for the sweet cravings that seem to be stronger during these stressful times. Here’s the one I make for Tramp 1 – it has very little fat and I often increase the fruit amount, too. It is from the More-with-Less Cookbook – a Mennonite cookbook that has some great cost saving recipes.

Quick Fruit Cobbler

Combine in bowl –
½ c. sugar
½ c. flour
½ c. milk
1 t. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Pour into 9x9 greased baking pan. Add 2 cups fruit – fresh, frozen or canned. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (I have doubled this recipe with good results, just increase the baking time as needed – I also like to add spices such as cloves with plums, nutmeg with apples, cinnamon with peaches, etc.)