Confession - I really really really suck at making bread. I tried making challah a long time ago and it came out hard as a rock. I’ve since successfully made dough for bread rolls, piroshki, pretzels, and cinnamon rolls but to make a delicious loaf of bread is still something I really want to do. So, when I saw a recipe for No-Time Bread I knew I had to try it. So, while the soup was cooking, I went to work.
(The recipe calls for a dutch oven, if you don’t have one, you can use another pot as long as it can go into a 450 degree oven and has a good fitting lid. Also, it requires a stand mixer. I guess/assume you don’t necessarily need it, but if you can do it by hand, go for it. The problem is that if the dough is gooey, it’ll be harder to mix it by hand.)
Honestly, I didn’t think the directions were 100% clear so I had to embellish a little and kind of go from memory (you’ll see later on). My first failure came at step 1. The recipe says to add yeast to water. I did and all I saw was my yeast sinking to the bottom. I knew that the water had to be a certain temperature and when I tried step 1 again with warm water, it worked!
That was pretty much one of the only things that went right (other than the end product). I don’t think I added enough flour, my dough didn’t rise properly, and I used a much-too-large dutch oven and so I came out with a flat, ugly loaf of bread. Nevertheless, the bread came out crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It wasn’t too dense, nor was it hard as a rock. So, to me, it’s partial success. Plus, it’s a perfect addition to the lentil soup.
No-Time Bread
(recipe from The Kitchn)
Ingredients:
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (two packets)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Directions:
In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer put the yeast, sugar, and water and let it sit. (this didn’t work for me and I had to make sure my water was at proper temperature - between 100 & 110°F)
Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven (or one of these alternatives) in to warm as the oven heats. Get out your flour, salt, vinegar, spray oil, and anything else you need.
Now that the yeast has had a few minutes to bubble up, add 3 cups of the flour as well as the salt and vinegar and beat for several minutes with the paddle. Add the last 1/2 cup of flour and switch to the dough hook and beat for seven minutes. Alternately, knead vigorously for five minutes, or until the dough becomes extremely elastic. This will still be a wet dough, but not goopy. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom (this is where, I think, I didn’t add enough flour)
Lightly grease a microwave-safe bowl with vegetable oil and transfer the bread dough to it, rolling it in the oil. Cover the bowl with a very wet towel. Cover the whole thing with a dry towel and put in the microwave. Microwave on HIGH for 25 seconds.
Let rest in the microwave for about five minutes.
Microwave on HIGH for another 25 seconds, then remove.
Let rest and rise for another 15 minutes.
Shape into a ball and plop into the preheated pan. Quickly slash the top with a knife. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature hits 210.
