5 Minute a Day Bread

Im posting this because everyone needs to give this a go. We just finished eating the last of our first batch of bread and it is to die for! The yummiest bread I have had in years. EVEN better than bread in the breadmaker. I have just whipped up a second batch of dough and I am waiting for it to rise before I put it in the fridge. It has taken about ten minutes to make the dough. Thats it! It lasts in the fridge for two weeks. You just pull off a chunk, let it rise for 40 minutes (I put it on a baking tray in a big lump, then fill a sink with boiling water, then put the tray over the sink) then stick it in the oven for 40 minutes. SOOOO GOOOD!!

Tonight I am going to pull off a chunk, spread it out thin, and make a Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Yum!! Ill add a pic later.

Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1616

ETA: OK after some issues with the above link I am copying the info here. It is a direct copy from the original website though so I can't take any credit for it! If you want to see pics of the process go to the above site.

Master Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day:


3 cups lukewarm water (you can use cold water, but it will take the dough longer to rise. Just don’t use hot water or you may kill the yeast)

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast ( you can use any kind of yeast including: instant, rapid rise, bread machine, active dry or cake yeast*. I buy the 2-pound bulk package of Red Star Yeast to drive down the cost. You can also decrease the amount of yeast in the recipe by following the directions here. Or you can bake with a sour dough starter, see instructions here.)

1 1/2 tablespoons  Salt (use less salt to suit your taste or eliminate it all together. Find more information here.)

6 1/2 cups (2-pounds) unbleached all-purpose flour (we tested the recipes with Gold Medal and Pillsbury flour. If you use King Arthur or other high protein flour check here.)

Mixing the dough:


In a 5 or 6 quart bowl or lidded Food Storage Container, dump in the water and add the yeast and salt. Because we are mixing in the flour so quickly it doesn’t matter that the salt and yeast are thrown in together.


Dump in the flour all at once and stir with a long handled wooden spoon or a Danish Dough Whisk, which is one of the tools that makes the job so much easier!


Stir it until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough, as you can see it will be a wet rough dough.


Put the lid on the container, but do not snap it shut. You want the gases from the yeast to escape. (I had my husband put a little hole in the top of the lids so that I could close the lids and still allow the gases to get out.
Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours to rise. When you first mix the dough it will not occupy much of the container.

But, after the initial 2 hour rise it will pretty much fill it.

The dough will be flat on the top and some of the bubbles may even appear to be popping. (If you intend to refrigerate the dough after this stage it can be placed in the refrigerator even if the dough is not perfectly flat. The yeast will continue to work even in the refrigerator.) The dough can be used right after the initial 2 hour rise, but it is much easier to handle when it is chilled.


The next day when you pull the dough out of the refrigerator you will notice that it has collapsed and this is totally normal for our dough. It will never rise up again in the container.

Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour, just enough to prevent it from sticking to your hands when you reach in to pull a piece out.

You should notice that the dough has a lot of stretch once it has rested. (If your dough breaks off instead of stretching like this your dough is probably too dry and you can just add a few tablespoons of water and let it sit again until the dough absorbs the additional water.)


Cut off a 1-pound piece of dough using kitchen shears* and form it into a ball. For instructions on how to form the ball watch one of our videos. Place the ball on a sheet of parchment paper… (or rest it on a generous layer of corn meal on top of a pizza peel.)

*I actually use a pair of Sewing Shears because I like the long blade. I just dedicated a pair to the kitchen.

Let the dough rest for at least 40 minutes, (although letting it go 60 or even 90 minutes will give you a more open hole structure in the interior of the loaf. This may also improve the look of your loaf and prevent it from splitting on the bottom. ) You will notice that the loaf does not rise much during this rest, in fact it may just spread sideways, this is normal for our dough.

preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a Baking Stone* (or a tray)on the center rack, with a broiler tray (I used a cake tin filled with water) on the bottom, which will be used to produce steam. (The tray needs to be at least 4 or 5 inches away from your stone to prevent it from cracking.)

Cut the loaf with 1/4-inch slashes using a serrated knife. (If your slashes are too shallow you will end up with an oddly shaped loaf and also prevent it from splitting on the bottom.)

Slide the loaf into the oven onto the preheated stone (the one I’m using is the cast iron) and add a cup of hot water to the broiler tray. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes or until a deep brown color. As the bread bakes you should notice a nice oven spring in the dough. This is where the dough rises. To insure that you get the best results it is crucial to have an Oven Thermometer to make sure your oven is accurate.

If you used parchment paper you will want to remove it after about 20-25 minutes to crisp up the bottom crust. Continue baking the loaf directly on the stone for the last 5-10 minutes.

Allow the loaf to cool on a rack until it is room temperature. If you cut into a loaf before it is cooled you will have a tough crust and a gummy interior. It is hard to wait, but you will be happy you did! Make sure you have a nice sharp Bread Knife that will not crush the bread as you cut. Or you can tear it apart as they do in most of Europe.


If you have any leftover bread just let it sit, uncovered on the cutting board or counter with the cut side down. If you cover a bread that has a crust it will get soggy.

Enjoy and have fun baking. Bread that is made with love and joy tastes better!

Lemons!

We have a big bag of lemons from mum and dads garden. I dont know who is more excited about it, Chloe, Ben or me. So far we have made Lemon butter, Lemon cordial, Lemon Impossible Pie and Lemon Pudding.

Some recipes:

Lemon Honey

Ingredients:

125g butter
1 cup of sugar
2 large lemons
1tbsp cornflour or custard powder

Method:

Melt butter and sugar in the juice from the lemons. Add grated rind. Remove from heat. Moisten the cornflour with water so it can be mixed smooth. Stir this into the mixture and return to heat. Stir while cooking until the mixture is lovely and smooth. Remove from heat and cool a little before bottling in small jars and labelling. This lemon honey can be stored in or out of the fridge.

This is one from Destitute Gourmet:-

Lemon Curd Krummeltorte

2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup sugar
100g butter, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup lemon curd
1 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180C. Place SR Flour, sugar and butter in a food processor. Run machine until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. add the eggs and pulse to combine.

Press two-thirds of the dough into a greased 23-25cm cake tin
lined with baking paper. Spread the lemon curd over this and crumble the rest of the mixture over the top.

Bake for 35-40 mins.

Dust with icing sugar before serving

Lemon Cordial

6 lemons ( I use a mix of citrus fruits)
5 cups sugar
30g citric acid
1 litre boiling water.
1/2 tsp lemon essence (optional preservative)

Take the juice of six lemons, finely grated rind of two of them, add sugar and acid, then pour over boiling water and bring to the boil. Remove from heat as soon as boiling and add essence. Bottle and use as cordial.

Lemon Cordial

6 cups white sugar
3 cups lemon juice
6 cups water
2 level teaspoons tartaric acid
2 level teaspoons citric acid
Bung the lot in a saucepan. Boil five minutes. Boil 5 minutes. Strain. Bottle . Throw out if it bubbles or grows mould

Salted Preserved Lemons

Cut lemons in quarters, but not right down to the end (should open up like a flower).

Next, put as much salt as you can into the open lemon then re-form it back into its original shape. Fill jars with salted lemons. Squish them right in, they don't mind being forced in.

Cover lemons with lemon juice in filled jars.

Put on lids and leave for at least a week before using. Can last for up to about a year in a cupboard or pantry.

MOROCCAN PRESERVED LEMON QUARTERS
Categories: Foreign, Fruits
Yield: 4 servings

Eureka/Meyer lemons, rinsed
Kosher salt

Quarter lemons lengthwise and put in a noncorrosive airtight container.
Freeze for 8 hours. Add 1 tablespoon salt per lemon (4 quarters).
Store airtight at room temperature for 6 days; shake occasionally.
Use as suggested.
To store, chill up to 6 months (colour darkens).
Each lemon makes 4 pieces.
RecipeSource

Preserved Lemons
Categories: Condiments, Fruits, Harned 1994, Moroccan, Preserving
Yield: 1 batch

5 Lemons
1/4 c Salt; more if desired
1 Cinnamon stick
3 Cloves
5 To 6 coriander seeds
3 To 4 black peppercorns
1 Bay leaf
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
-- if necessary

The author writes: “Preserved lemons, sold loose in the souks, are one of the indispensable ingredients of Moroccan cooking, used in fragrant lamb and vegetables Tagines, recipes for chicken with lemons and olives, and salads. Their unique pickled taste and special silken texture cannot be duplicated with fresh lemon or lime juice, despite what some food writers have said. In Morocco they are made with a mixture of fragrant-skinned doqq and tart boussera lemons, but I have had excellent luck with American lemons from Florida and California.

”Moroccan Jews have a slightly different procedure for pickling, which involves the use of olive oil, but this recipe, which includes optional herbs (in the manner of Safi), will produce a true Moroccan preserved-lemon taste.

“The important thing in preserving lemons is to be certain they are completely covered with salted lemon juice. With my recipe you can use the lemon juice over and over again. (As a matter of fact, I keep a jar of used pickling juice in the kitchen, and when I make Bloody Marys or salad dressings and have a half lemon left over, I toss it into the jar and let it marinate with the rest.) Use wooden utensils to remove lemons as needed.”

“Sometimes you will see a sort of lacy, white substance clinging to preserved lemons in their jar; it is perfectly harmless, but should be rinsed off for aesthetic reasons just before the lemons are used. Preserved lemons are rinsed, in any case, to rid them of their salty taste. Cook with both pulps and rinds, if desired.”

To make preserved lemons: If you wish to soften the peel, soak the lemons in lukewarm water for 3 days, changing the water daily.

Quarter the lemons from the top to within 1/2″ of the bottom, sprinkle salt on the exposed flesh, and then reshape the fruit.

Place 1 tb. salt on the bottom of a sterilized one-pint mason jar. Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt, and the optional spices, between layers. Press the lemons down to release their juices and to make room for the remaining lemons. (If the juice released from the squashed fruit does not cover them, add freshly squeezed lemon juice - not chemically produced lemon juice and not water.*) Leave some air space before sealing the jar.

Let the lemons ripen in a warm place, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice. Let ripen for 30 days.

To use, rinse the lemons, as needed, under running water, removing and discarding the pulp, if desired - and there is no need to refrigerate after opening. Preserved lemons will keep up to a year, and the pickling juice can be used two or three times over the course of a year.

*According to the late Michael Field, the way to extract the maximum amount of juice from a lemon is to boil it in water for 2 or 3 minutes and allow it to cool before squeezing.

Cathy's note: I thought that the Safi spice combination sounded so good that I included it all as part of Wolfert's recipe although, when she wrote it, she only called for the lemons and salt as the main ingredients and made the rest of the ingredients optional.

From _Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco_ by Paula Wolfert.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1987. Pp. 30-32. ISBN 0-06-091396-7.
RecipeSource


Lemon Butter
1/4 lb butter - 125grms
1 lb sugar 450 grms
4 eggs
rind and juice of 4 lemons

Mix altogether, stir over low heat till thickened - not to boil

I found all these recipes on the Simple Savings Forum