Eliminating Unecessary Steps

I just love it when, in cooking, I discover I can streamline a process and get the same results. This happened to me yesterday when I was baking bread. I’ve honed in on my standard bread recipe – a “half whole wheat” baguette that I’ve served to rave reviews with hearty soups all winter. Never content to leave well enough alone, I wanted to see if it was really necessary to dissolve the yeast in water. I’ve never really been specifically told that it is, either by a person or a recipe, but when my mom baked bread when I was a kid I remember she always did it. The active dry yeast packet directs the user to dissolve it in water. But Smitten Kitchen’s pizza dough recipe has us just stirring the yeast dry into the ingredients, and it came out fine. So, I did that. Just stirred it into the flour before adding salt, butter, and water. I followed my other steps the same as ever, and the bread came out as expected. Rock on – one less dish to wash!

Light Wheat Bread

Adapted from 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood
With thanks to Smitten Kitchen

2 1/3 c. white bread flour

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 packet active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter, softened to the point of stirrable

1 1/4 c. water

Olive oil

Measure out the flours into a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Stir in the salt. Add the butter and stir. Pour in 1 cup water, and stir – add another 1/4 cup water, give or take, depending on how moist the dough is – whole wheat dough can be unworkably sticky! Scrape the whole mess out onto a floured countertop, or what I use – a heavy plastic placemat. Oil your hands – pretend it’s hand lotion – and knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, a couple of minutes. Oil the bowl (no need to wash it first) and roll the dough around inside until its surface is lightly oiled. Cover it with a clean dishtowl and leave it on top of the fridge (or another warmish place) for an hour. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a few hours to overnight, depending on the timing of your day. Take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temp, about an hour.

Poke it with two fingers – if the indentation stays, it’s ready. If it springs back, leave it for awhile longer.

Gently deflate the dough with your palms. Spread it out into a long oval. Fold the long edges in, and place it seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprinkled with cornmeal. Put the towel back over it and let it sit undisturbed for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425° (my oven runs hot – you may want to try 450°). Just before baking, use a sharp knife to make diagonal slashes in the top of the loaf, and sprinkle generously with flour. Bake the loaf for 18 – 20 minutes or until the crust is well browned and the loaf feels hollow when tapped.