Sometimes (like on a Monday in January when the costuming job you thought you were about to start falls through, and you just watched Downton Abbey’s characters smear butter onto thick cut teatime slices of bread, and it’s really cold outside) all you can do is put an apron on over your overalls and bake some bread!
I’d never actually made bread until today, though I remember the smell from childhood. My friend Alethea’s Artisan Boulè recipe has been sitting in my inbox for over a year and turned out to be simple, delicious, and is guaranteed to make your house smell good while baking, in all of its gluteny goodness.
Alethea’s Artisan Boulé
(For free form round dinner loaves and pizza crust)
1.5 TBS dry active yeast
1.5 TBS sea salt
1 TBS honey
3 c. Lukewarm water
Stir
Add 6.5 c unbleached white flour
Stir w/ wooden spoon
Cover not airtight for 2 hours
Once the dough has risen, you can refrigerate in an airtight container for about 2 weeks. If you refrigerate, let the dough you are using sit out for 1/2 hr, then bake. You can also freeze loaves for months.
This batch makes about 2 dinner loaves and 1 pizza or 2 big loaves.
When I make the boulé loaves, wet hands, take the chunk you want to use and toss back and forth and dust with flour till round.
For pizza cover pizza stone with cornmeal.
At about 30 min I cover the top of the bread in butter
Bake 375 for 50 minutes.
Smear with butter, jam, avocado or whatever sounds good. Enjoy!
smagik 