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This is my favorite loaf...so simple that you can make a fresh loaf everyday. Start by pouring 3 cups of fresh ground flour into a small mixing bowl early in the morning. Add 1/4 cup kefir or whey and enough warm water to make a wet, but stiff dough. Leave this dough in a warm place until after lunch. Now add 2 tsp of yeast to 1/2 cup warm water and sprinkle with some flour. Leave that sit for a few minutes while it gets bubbly. Sprinkle 2 tsp of sea salt in the dough ball that has been sitting since morning. Knead the salt in well and pour the yeasty water in. Continue mixing and kneading and begin adding additional flour. I use an organic unbleached white flour for this part. Knead in enough flour to make a nice, nonsticky dough. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes. Cover the ball of dough with a towel and let it sit in a warm place again until it rises, about an hour or so. Punch it down and form a nice round loaf or two and place them on a baking sheet (I use a pizza stone). Cut a few slices into the dough and sprinkle with flour. Let it rise again and then bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes. If time is short, you can skip the first rise and still get a very nice loaf of bread. By dinner time you will have a delicious loaf of fresh, crusty bread that tastes divine and is rather good for you, too. If I am going to be home all day, this really doesn't take much of my time...just a few minutes in the morning and 20 minutes or so after lunch (I listen to the news on the radio while I'm kneading) and then the finishing touches a while later. If you want an even nicer loaf (with more of a sour dough flavor) you can soak your flour over night and begin the 2nd step of kneading the dough in the morning. This will give you a fresh loaf by lunch. Either way, it is simple and cheap and delicious. I used to have a fancy Bosch mixer and I loved it, but now I must be content with making bread by hand and I actually find that I enjoy it. Shalom! |
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