Somewhere between chef who hates recipes and Baker who is bound by the laws of nature to follow them there exists a world where the two can collide. This world seems to be looked over when the war between baker and chef collide, but it is out there, oh yes, it is out there.
When it comes to making bread, while there are certain “rules” that should be followed, there is a lot of space for one to play around with the recipe. If I am going to make a basic white dough I always use either a packet of yeast or 2-2.5 teaspoons of my instant yeast. If you use active dry yeast you have to soak it in warm water around 110ºF for 5-10 minutes before continuing on. But that aside, once the yeast is activated you can really add whatever you want. At this point I will add some sugar to help feed the yeast, holding off on salt until I add flour so as to not kill the yeast, and whatever other seasonings I would like to have in my bread. Then, depending on how much water you added, I just keep adding flour, about 1/2 at a time and mix until the dough comes together and it is sticky but not too watery where it would stick to my hand. You can learn, by simple practice, what the dough should feel like avoiding exact measurements and making this process a bit more enjoyable and free.
After that whole long post about not following recipes it only seems right to share a simple recipe here. I think one of the biggest fears of making bread is that people don’t understand how to properly kneed. After a few attempts it is quite simple but for the sake of getting around your fears before conquering them I offer this no-kneed dough recipe. Ciabatta makes for a really great bread as it has that perfect balance of crispy crust and fluffy inside. Just the way I like my ladies…. (wha?)
Ciabatta No-Kneed Recipe
Ingredients
2 teaspoons of salt
A little less than a packet of active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon or garlic powder
4 cups of flour
2 cups of warm water
- In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until they are well mixed and a sticky doug has formed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or something else that will cover it well and let it sit at room temperature, preferably in a warm place in your house, for 18 hours.
- At this point the dough should be sticky but when you put a spatula in it, it should stick to the spatula when you try to pull the spatula away.
- Cover a large baking tray with parchment paper and using a fair amount of flour sprinkled on the dough, lift the dough from the bowl and form it in to a loaf shape of your liking on to the baking sheet. Let dough rise for 2 hours
- Preheat oven 425º
- Bake the dough for 30-40 minutes but check it at about 15-20 minutes and turn the pan around. The bread will be ready when it turns a beije color and has formed a nice crust.
- This bread is great for dipping in just about anything as well as making sandwiches.
- hint* check the bottom of the bread midway through to make sure it is not browning too much. The direct heat of the pan will cook the bottom faster. If this happens you can add a second baking sheet (of same size or larger) to the first one and it will help insulate the bottom. When baking people often forget that the bottom will generally cook faster.
