Outrageously Easy BIG Bread
2 (1/4 ounce) packets yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons turbinado
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups + 3 cups flour, divided
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil
1. To proof yeast, pour warm water into a small ceramic bowl and add the yeast, but do not stir. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, pour hot water over the turbinado and salt; stir with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve. Combine 3 cups flour with the hot water mixture. Pour the oil on top of the dough mixture then add the yeast mixture on top of that, but do not stir.
2. Top with the remaining 3 cups flour and mix well. (I begin mixing with the wooden spoon but I very quickly have to move into squishing the dough with my hands.) At this point, the dough should be pliant and moist, but not gooey. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside to rise for at least 45 minutes. (I've left it for almost two hours.)
3. On a lightly floured cutting board or countertop, divide the dough into half. (This is when I recruit someone to knead the dough, but the recipe actually calls for no kneading; I've done this recipe many times without kneading anything, and it always turns out really good.) Flatten each half into roughly an oval/rounded rectangular shape, about 1/2-3/4" thickness.
4. Roll the dough lengthwise and place on an ungreased, but very BIG, cookie sheet. (If you don't have a very large cookie sheet, use two cookie sheets, one for each half of the dough.) Cover the dough with a moist towel and set aside to rise again for another 45 minutes (or longer).
5. After the dough has risen the second time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for exactly 23 minutes. If you can keep everyone from digging in right away, allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then enjoy. (Also, before the bread bakes, you can slit the top of each lump of dough a couple of times and brush lightly with some kind of egg substitute. The glaze helps the bread come out with a slightly crunchier crust. I don't usually bother.)
Source of recipe: Whenever I go to potlucks, I bake this bread and it disappears within minutes. I've even had special requests for it. At a family Christmas, after I found out that store-bought rolls (ick!) would be served with the Christmas Eve dinner, I announced that I would make homemade bread. Since dinner would be served in a little less than two hours and since my family knows how much I absolutely detest cooking, my mother thought I was lying. She couldn't believe that I could make "respectable" bread without any kneading and in time for dinner. I made this bread and, as usual, it vanished almost instantly. My mother got this bread recipe from me. I think the dogs got the store-bought rolls.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Tried this a second time... it turns out well and tastes good, but once again, my bread doesn't rise NEARLY as much as is shown in the picture. Perhaps only half as much. So I'm wondering if perhaps...
...the yeast isn't good? (although I did double the amount)
...I should be using WHITE flour? (I use just regular whole wheat, not pastry flour or anything)
...it needs to be set in a warmer place where it can rise more? (it's Winter after all)
Really, I'm kind of stumped. I'd make it again, but I wouldn't mind a batch that gives me big bread slices. NOBODY else is running into this, or am I nuts?
WOW! This recipe was so easy and so wonderful!! I used unbleached flour, but I am totally going to try it with wheat flour next time I make it. This bread recipe has seriously made me comfortable to bake bread. I froze a loaf, as this recipe makes a lot of bread and it was excellent still.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Happy Holidays!!
Wow! Oh! Wow! Super easy yeasty bread recipe. The only problem I had was with having the patience to wait for the dough to rise. I busied myself with baking dog treats and making dinner. This is why I should work on having patience. This bread is awesome. It takes so little effort, is super yummy and totally worth the wait!
:)
I'm usually a pretty bad bread maker. It always ends up super dense and undercooked in the middle. This recipe was wicked easy. While it does take a good chunk of an afternoon to make, the actual work involved in miniscule. I spent the rest of the time cleaning, bathing the dog and perusing the internet. I only made a half batch and baked it in a glass bread tin. After reading all the reviews the only change i made was that I added 1 tsp of the sugar to the yeast and warm water. I ended up with an excellent foamy proof, and wouldn't try this any other way. I lightly kneeded for about 30 sec prior to each rise. Because my apartment is so cold I warmed my oven for a few mins, shut it off and put the dough inside to rise each time. I let it rise 1 hour each time just for good measure. My dough rose better than any other dough I've tried to make before. Baked it for the recommened time and it turned out perfectly. There is a nice crust despite the fact that I didn't do anything to make it crusty. I look forward to trying to make pizza out of this dough. Very good recipe.
Bread is on it's first rising, about 10 minutes in and seems to be getting a good rise already. I had a hard time NOT kneading this, as I'm just so used to kneading bread before you let it rise...
As a culinary student in my second semester AND in a pastry & baking class, just want to emphasize the importance of using the freshest ingredients (ie: yeast) and the importance of using bread flour when baking bread. It is MY personal experience that fast rise yeast in the little glass jar is far superior to that in packets or what comes in bulk bags. And as no yeast bread will work without a good rise, 'IF YOUR YEAST AIN'T HAPPY, AIN'T NOBODY HAPPY'. ;D
The only thing I might change is to actually bake the bread in pans instead of this more artisan approach of placing it on a baking sheet (I'm a control freak...things MUST be contained! :>
Looking forward to the next few hours and what will become of this big easy bread. . .
This is a great recipe. I too used 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 all-purpose flour. Also added some rosemary to make it more of a bread used for dipping in olive oil. I read once to brush some olive oil in the slashes on top to make the crust crispier, so I tried it and it worked nicely! ;)
This bread is excellent! Used olive oil and half white/ half wheat. It's got a nice flavor and texture.
made this last night b/c i wanted my house to smell of fresh baked bread. it worked. it was very yummy, didn't rise to a rediculous amount, but my house was probably on the chilly side anyway. i will probably attempt this again. :)
Made this awesome bread for lunch today along with a big pot of butternut squash soup. The kids gobbled it down and begged for more! This is so super easy and really yummy. Thank you for sharing it! :)>>>
i made this, and it was good!
even though it was a bit dense and didn't rise to well, that's alright. I'm going to blame it on the fact I've never baked bread before ;)b
Anyone know the nutritional value of this recipe by any chance...?
Pages