Crusty Bread

Ok, so I found this recipe for bread on Pinterest and it looked so easy that I just had to give it a shot! And it totally worked!

All you need is:

• 3 cups of FLOUR
• 1 & 3/4 tsp of SALT
• 1/2 tsp of INSTANT or QUICK RISE YEAST (I used to be afraid of baking with yeast, but don’t worry, it’s so easy!)
• 1 & 1/2 cups WATER

Start by whisking together the flour, salt, and yeast. Then stir in the water. Boom.

After the ingredients have all been combined, cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it sit at room temperature until the dough rises and is at least double its original size.

This will take a few hours. The website where I found the recipe suggested to let the dough rise for 12-18 hours, so when I made it I let the dough rise for about 14 hours (overnight) but the dough collapsed because it had been left to rise for too long which is why my loaf is so flat :/  I think it actually only took about 2-3 hours for my dough to rise the maximum amount. Below you can see my risen (and also fallen) dough. 

After your dough has risen and you are ready to bake it, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, form the dough into a ball on a heavily floured surface. The dough will be VERY sticky so it may help to flour your hands when handling it as well. After it has been formed into a ball, cover it with the cling wrap that was covering the bowl while it rose.

Once your oven has preheated, place a large (OVEN SAFE!) cooking pot with lid inside before putting the dough in the pot. Leave the empty pot in the oven for 15-20 minutes to make sure it is heated up to the temperature of the oven. Next, carefully pull the pot out and place your dough into the pot. Place the lid back on the pot and put it back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. See picture below of bread after 30 minutes.

Then remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes to finish cooking the dough and make the outside of the bread nice and crusty! When the timer goes off pull the pot out of the oven, remove the bread carefully from the pot, and allow the bread to cool. Then eat it!

Here is a picture of a cheesy loaf I made! All I did was add 1 cup of shredded cheese to the dough. It was so good!!

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Crusty Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of FLOUR
• 1 & 3/4 tsp of SALT
• 1/2 tsp of INSTANT or QUICK RISE YEAST (I used to be afraid of baking with yeast, but don’t worry, it’s so easy!)
• 1 & 1/2 cups WATER

Directions:

1. Whisking together the flour, salt, and yeast. Then stir in the water. 
2. After the ingredients have all been combined, cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it sit at room temperature until the dough rises and is at least double its original size. (About 2-3 hours)
3. After your dough has risen and you are ready to bake it, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. 
4. While the oven is preheating, form the dough into a ball on a heavily floured surface. The dough will be VERY sticky so it may help to flour your hands when handling it as well. After it has been formed into a ball, cover it with the cling wrap that was covering the bowl while it rose.
5. Once your oven has preheated, place a large (OVEN SAFE!) cooking pot with lid inside before putting the dough in the pot. Leave the empty pot in the oven for 15-20 minutes to make sure it is heated up to the temperature of the oven. 
6. Next, carefully pull the pot out and place your dough into the pot. Place the lid back on the pot and put it back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. 
7. Then remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes to finish cooking the dough and make the outside of the bread nice and crusty! When the timer goes off pull the pot out of the oven, remove the bread carefully from the pot, and allow the bread to cool. Then eat it!

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I found this recipe at: http://www.simplysogood.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html