Bread, wonderful bread

Despite the hot weather outside, I still crank up my oven since I bake constantly. I am quite the minimalist when it comes to bread: I like doughs that require minimum intervention on my part (a resting period and a few folds and they are on their way) and yield loaves that bring smiles to everyone's face while providing good nutrition (the more whole grains the better). My kids see me mix dough just about every day of the week, usually when they are having breakfast. Maybe one day, when they are all grown-up and crave honest bread, they'll remember that all it takes is a big bowl and two hands and they'll want to learn how to make their own. One can only hope, right?

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

(a) 1/3 cup warm water + 1 tsp sugar + 2 tsp. active dry yeast

(b) Approx. 7 cups of bread flour + 3 cups of warm water (between 80 and 115 degrees F.)

(c) 1 tbs salt

Method: (hand-mixed)

Using an 8 oz measuring cup, mix (a) yeast into sweetened water and let rest for five minutes (that's called "proofing" the yeast). Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix (b) flour and water until no dry flour remains, incorporate proofed yeast, and let rest, covered, 20 to 40 minutes. Add the salt. Cover the dough and let it rest, doing as many folds as necessary to obtain medium soft consistency. When the dough is ready (it takes about three hours hours at my house with folds every thirty minutes), transfer it out of the bowl on a floured surface and shape it into three medium-sized loaves.

Preheat the oven to 450°F

Let the loaves rest for 30 to 45 minutes, then bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack. Enjoy!