make chewy crusty artisan BREAD with 5 minutes of your time! seriously! and cheap!

Bumping this thread for those who may not have seen it yet.

I baked a loaf today and I'm making a couple more tonoight for neighbors.

Not only does this bread taste great but it doesn't have all the additives/preservatives that store bought bread has.

THANKS

Until I get my dutch oven.

Thank you for bringing this thread back!

I'm glad to see this topic still around. It's a good bread recipe. Everyone should take a risk, especially people who don't think they can cook, and try it.

There are few great inexpensive ways to make people happy. Be altruistic and bake someone a loaf. Give them a gift even though it's not a holiday or their birthday. Kindness is infectious.

Accolades to the OP for starting it.

I've been baking bread since first reading this thread and I've gotten to the point now where my bread taste better than anything I can buy at the supermarket or even at a bakery.

It didn't happen with the first 4 or 5 batches and it took some refining and research but I'm very pleased with myself and the fact that I can make an awesome tasting loaf of bread that only takes minutes to prepare.

Having the ability to make your own bread will be a great way to feed your family and yourself in times of trouble. Most can't conceive of such a time so they do nothing to prepare. When tshtf it will be far too late and you will be left with nothing but regrets.

Another advantage to knowing how to bake a good loaf of bread is that you will have something that other people will want and need. Bread could be bartered for all sorts of things and done very cheaply if you stock up on flour now while it's dirt cheap.

All purpose Flour (one I use & recommend) will last up to 18 months if stored in a sealed container and kept below 70* F. Otherwise, after 12 months it's going to start smelling a bit off and may become a Host to some tiny creepy-crawlies. If you have an unheated garage/shed, balcony Etc. where you can store the sealed buckets outside and you live in a climate that goes below freezing during the winter, you can extend the longevity of your flour even more by keeping it outside.

Here's my own recipe and one that is still evolving but works very well:

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface


1/4 teaspoon instant yeast


1 1/4 - 2 teaspoons salt - Depending on your own taste buds. I use sea salt.

1 1/2 teaspoons of honey - Trust me, your bread will taste better with honey added. ;-)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt & honey. Add 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. You may add a little water but be careful or your dough will become soupy and you don't want that. You're basically trying to get all the flour to stick together into one lump. It's going to take some practice but you'll learn as you go along. The trick is to not take a whole lot of time doing this... Remember: this is the "quick-knead method" of bread making. Let dough rest at least 18 hours, but preferably up to 24, in a room about 72 degrees in temperature. Be sure to cover the bowl with something... I just put mine in a plastic shopping bag and it works fine. KISS


After 18 - 24 hours, lightly flour a work surface . Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with a little more flour. Fold the dough over on itself a couple of times. Plop it back into bowl and loosely cover with plastic and let rest for another 2 hours - Dough should double in size during this time.


After about 1 1/4 hours, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a large & heavy covered pot, such as cast-iron or Pyrex, in oven to heat. After 45 minutes, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove lid from pot and dump your dough from your bowl into the hot pot. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Be careful not to burn yourself! Put the cover back on and place back into oven. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until browned, another 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Eat!

Way to go!

Here's a little tip: All flour has weevil eggs in it. Freeze the flour for four days then store as usual. This will kill most of the eggs.

[link to www.wikihow.com]
By vaccum sealing the flour, you can vastly extend it's preservation, and by using oxygen absorbers you can also do this. Most likely you'll eat it first.

I live in northern Ont and our winters are nippie to say the least and I plan on keeping my flour outside this winter but that is a great tip!

Didn't know this......guess my flour I've had in the cupboard is no good then these days, been there a while........how long will it stay good after freezing?