Artisan Bread Master Recipe

Master Bread Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 cups lukewarm water (too hot kills the yeast they say)

1 tablespoon granulated yeast

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or real salt

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Mixing the dough:

In a very large (5-6 quart) bowl or bucket mix together all ingredients and then stir until fully incorporated. The dough will be really wet and still rough, but that's okay. No kneading is needed, just stir it together.

Now put a lid on top (or plastic wrap) but do not snap it shut, you want to let the gas from the yeast escape.

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 2 hours to rise. It will have expanded significantly in size. Do not punch down the dough, just let it settle. After this initial 2 hour rise, the dough can be refrigerated for later use, or you can use it immediately, but it's easier to handle when chilled. The flavor intensifies over time. Around day 6 the dough takes on a sourdough flavor; stored in the refrigerator, the dough may be used anytime in the first two weeks.

After refrigeration, the dough will have collapsed and it won't rise up again in the container. This is totally normal.

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.

*The dough should have a lot of stretch after resting (if it is breaking instead, add a few tablespoons of water and let it sit until the dough absorbs the water).*

Squeeze off a grapefruit sized piece of dough (about 1 lb) and form it into a ball. Place the ball of dough on a pizza peel with lots of corn meal to prevent sticking. Alternately, place the ball on a piece of parchment paper.

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.

You can also try our “refrigerator rise trick,” shaping the loaves and then immediately refrigerating them overnight. By morning, they’ll have risen and are ready for the oven after a brief room-temp rest while the oven preheats

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a Baking Stone on the center rack, with a metal broiler tray on the bottom (never use a glass vessel for this or it will shatter), 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 very sharp 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). If your dough is collapsing when you make the slashes, it may be that the dough has overproofed or your knife is dull and dragging the dough too much.

Slide the loaf into the oven onto a preheated stone 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 the dough rising.

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.

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.