Artisan Bread

According to artisanbakers.com, an Artisan Baker is a highly trained craftsperson compared to other experts such as jewelers, glass blowers and furniture makers, just to name a few. According to those lofty standards, Artisan Bakers we are not. Fortunately for the rest of us, the important aspect of Artisan bread is the small list of ingredients it has. Flour, salt, yeast and water. Made by hand. No conditioners or preservatives added. Well after reading a little more about it, my wife decided to just give it a go. When it comes to cooking and baking, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get down with it. There will always be something to learn about cooking and baking, even for experts. You can always adjust, substitute and improvise. Much like we did when we baked the bread inside a wok.....

Artisan Bread

Artisan Bread

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 cup water

Procedure

-mix the dry ingredients
-add the water and mix until well incorporated. (do not knead)
-place in a covered but not air tight container and let rest in the fridge overnight

-dust a flat surface and your hands because the dough will be very sticky
-cut your desired size of dough and shape it into a round piece and place in an oiled bowl
-let proof for 45 minutes to an hour covered with cling wrap or cloth
-preheat oven to 450 with the Dutch oven inside (or in our case, a wok)
-wait for at least 30 minutes to get the Dutch oven very hot
-place the dough in the preheated Dutch oven or wok and bake covered for 30 minutes
-remove the cover then bake for another 10-15 minutes

-remove the bread and let cool on a rack or serve piping hot. up to you :)

Enjoy!