Classy, Crusty Artisan Bread
from Emily (who loves food)
I love making bread.
If I’ve got a day where I’ve really got to get some uni work done – I’ll make bread. Because it adds structure to my day, without taking much effort.
I make the bread, and while it proofs, get some work done.
Take it out, punch down the yeast.
And as it rises again, more uni work.
While the oven heats up, more uni work.
While it bakes, I dot my ‘i’s and cross my ‘t’s.
Then, as a reward for a solid few hours work, I get freshly baked bread.
Making bread is actually super easy – and in fact, the crusty, classy stuff like this is the easiest. No weird ingredients, just flour, water, salt, yeast oil/butter and whatever herbs you want to add. You’ll be making it for a fraction of the cost of those loaves at the bakery, and trust me, it’ll taste better too.
Here, I added oregano, thyme, a smidge of tomato paste and a couple of tablespoons of the oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes. You know, the liquid that pools at the bottom and you usually end up throwing out. Mmmm. Put it in bread.
Classy, Crusty Artisan Bread - Makes one medium-sized round loaf
Prep time: 3 hours, give or take Cook time: 45mins
- 4 cups white bread flour
- 1 cup luke-warm water (if you put your finger in, it should feel like it’s sliding through air: body temperature).
- 1 packet (8g) instant dry yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- A combination of melted butter and oil adding up to 120g (I used 60g butter, 60g oil – some of which was from the sundried tomato jar – but you can change it to taste).
- A few good shakes of your favorite dried herbs (I used a small 1/2 tsp thyme, and a good shake of oregano.)
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a bowl, and leave for five minuets to go foamy and soft. If it doesn’t appear to be working, give it a teeny tiny stir and leave for another 5 mins.
In a small bowl, mix together the herbs and butter/oil.
In a stand mixture fitted with the dough hook, mix together the flour, foamy yeast, salt and herb mix. Knead for 5-10 mins on a fairly slow, but steady speed (or do it by hand – you’ll just be kneading for longer) until firm and elastic. If you stretch a piece out like you intend to break it, it should tear away from a hole in the centre, not rip from the sides.
Lightly grease a large bowl (I just use the stand mixer bowl) and plop the dough inside. Grab a tea towel, and sprinkle it lightly with water to dampen it, then cover the bowl with it. Place in a warm place (I use the hot water/airing cupboard) for 2 hours to double in size.
Occupy yourself while you wait.
Take it out of the bowl, and don’t knead it, but sort of stretch it and move it around in your hands to wake up that sleepy gluten.
Put a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven, and preheat it to 210C (this is the artisan trick they don’t want you to know).
It should take a while to heat up, so while it does, but the dough back in it’s warm place for a quick wee rise.
Once both oven and pot have come to temperature, shape the dough into a circular loaf shape and score a cross on the top with a knife. Place it carefully into the pot, and cover with the lid – bake for 30 mins (in my super-oven, it was 20mins) then remove the lid, and bake uncovered for a further 15mins (again, my oven bakes double-time, and the bread was ready in 7mins).
The bread should ‘smell done’ when it’s ready, and have a nice golden brown crust on top.
Carefully remove it from the pot, and pat yourself on the back.
See? Not that hard.
WOW
Bread, get in my mouth.
I always thought crusty bread required a special kind of oven. Thanks for the recipe and the tips!
It looks bakery perfect!
Emily,
This bread was great! I followed the recipe exactly and kneaded by hand. The only thing is, I had to add about an extra 1/2 to 1 cup more of water because the dough was so dry (it hardly picked up all the flour). Since the oils and the yeast water are the only liquids in this recipe, I wonder if there’s just a typo? Anyways, thanks for an awesome recipe
For me, the ratios worked fine. However, bread seems to be one of those things where what works for one person could be drastically different for another – perhaps it’s the temperature out side, the temperature of the water/oil, or simply how they’re mixed together. I’m glad you adapted it to suit, because it sounds like it needed it! I’m trying to remember when I made this (I haven’t made it since, unfortunately) and I remember the flour and water and oil taking smoothly. Ahhh… the mysteries of bread!
I made this bread tonight and I was hoping for some insight on what I may have done wrong. The crust was awesome, it was done all the way through, it was moist, but the inside was more like a biscuit than fluffy bread. And it also didn’t really have much flavor though it made my house smell wonderful. Any recommendations?
Hi there Sarah – I’m sorry the texture was a wee bit off for you! It’s not naturally a super-fluffy sandwich bread, and does have a chewier texture with not a lot of air pockets (a bit like a bruschetta or dense loaf), but should be more like bread than a scone/biscuit. My only thought is that the dough wasn’t kneaded or proofed enough – it’s best, I’ve found, to go with the texture and size of the dough as opposed to the time stated in the recipe. After kneading, the dough should be elastic and tear from the centre, and feel a bit like human skin. The dough should double in size while rising, even if it takes longer than the recommended time. As for the flavour, it comes down to personal taste. When I made this, I wasn’t looking for a strong herby bread – however, adding more herbs (or even some chopped up sin-dried tomato at the last stage) wouldn’t harm the dough, if you’re looking for a strong flavor – it’s very much personal preference!