Super Woman
I've recently been trying to cut out processed and prepackaged foods from our diets. The more and more I read about food and everything that is pumped into it and all the negative effects these chemicals and additives have on our bodies, the more that I have been trying to avoid buying them. I feel that since God has placed me at home and in charge of food purchasing and meal preparation, I am the gateway to my family's stomachs and health. SO with all of that being said, I've been cutting back on canned goods, AND (da da da daaaaa) I've started making our bread. From SCRATCH. Yeah, you heard me, scratch! Now you really think I'm super woman, right??
Well, I would really love you to believe that I'm super woman (you can if you want to, I'm not going to stop you), but honestly, the whole process is ridiculously easy. Really, I promise. EASY PEASY.
I did some searching on Pinterest, and I came up with a couple options, but this one is my favorite.
Now, before you get all freaked out when you start reading the instructions and see things like "12-18 hours" and "dutch oven", take a deep breath. I took this wonderful blogger's advice and started making my dough in the evening so that it can hang out in my bowl overnight. I also dont have a dutch oven. I would love to own one, but the only purchasing options for me in Germany currently are way out of my "willing to spend" range so I make due with what I have in my kitchen. The blog specifically says you need a pot with a lid, hense the dutch oven, but I've found two other options that also pump out killer bread.
I've made my bread in this weird hand-me-down pot thing that my Nana gave me. It's round with a bubble-shaped lid so it worked for the round version of this bread, but lately I have been using a loaf pan. I know, I know, the blog says to use a pot with a lid, but I really wanted to make normal-shaped sandwiches and such with the bread, so I figured I would test it out in the loaf pan. You have to make a tent out of foil for the first part of the baking process and cut down the cooking time by about 5-10 minutes, but other than that, the process and results are the same. Yay!
See? Pretty! This was my FIRST try, people. I was blown away at my results. I am NOT known for my baking skills, and I definitely don't have baked goods come out beautiful (or edible) the first time on a regular basis, so this was a miracle! I will make sure to take a picture of my next loaf from the loaf pan, I honestly went into zombie-bread mode when it came time to eat, and I forgot to take any pics. Oh, one other thing. The whole point of this recipe was to have the soft insides and crunchy outsides which is GREAT, especially when you are feeling kinda fancy and you want to dip it in some olive oil and vinegar, BUT its not so easy to cut for sandwiches. AKA you WILL have a crummy mess on your hands. But not to worry, I stumbled upon this idea accidentally while trying to keep my bread from getting dried out. Just pop that bad boy into a large ziplock baggie. The moisture in the bread softens the crust perfectly.
Enjoy your bread, everyone!
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