Bread Update!

Last week I posted about my new found ability to make bread that's not only edible, but AWESOME! (don't remember? read it here)

Well, today I crossed the line from awesome to speechless! What's better then home-made-fresh-from-the-oven bread? Home-made-fresh-from-the-oven bread with roasted garlic, rosemary & toasted pine nuts!! Er. Mah. Gerd.

This is how I did it....

I started out roasting the garlic. I took about 8 cloves (un-peeled) and put them on a piece of aluminum foil. Coat with about a tablespoon of olive oil, and wrap the foil up into a package. (I know this is not the traditional way to do it, but it's quick and easy and allows you to do as much or as little as you like instead of a whole head) Roast at 300º F for about a half hour. Take it out and let it cool off -- a lot!

Uh..... YUM!

Once they're cool, the ooey-gooey garlic awesomeness just squeezes right out. Easy peasy.

Chop the garlic & about 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary.

Then I took the original bread recipe and cut it in half (there are only 2 of us here, so last time 1 whole batch was a little too much for us). Mix all the dry ingredients well, then add the roasted garlic, rosemary & about 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (nuts are optional, but I love pine nuts!). Add the water and mix until it's all one big doughy ball. Cover with saran wrap and let sit on the counter for 12-18 hours.

I usually do this part at night, so when I get up in the morning, I find this....

Ok, doesn't look so great, but it's going to be AWESOME..... trust me!!

Scoop out the dough onto a well-floured surface and just make it into a ball. That's it. No kneading required.

shh...I'm resting...

Once you have a nice ball, flour a dish towel (cotton, not terry cloth) and shake off the excess. Then put your dough on it and wrap it loosely and let it rest for about an hour.

Rub the flour in, then shake off some of the excess...

Meanwhile, put your pot (with the lid on) in the oven and let it get good and hot (don't use anything with rubber handles... they'll melt!). Take the bread and just flip it into the hot pot. Cover it and let it cook for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and let it cook for 15 more minutes and you get.....

Am I beautiful or WHAT!?

BAM! I made bread. Again. And better (smaller, but better!).

The only problem I had with this bread is that I used the same pot I used for double the recipe and it came out much shorter this time (Well, duh. That's kinda how it works). And unfortunately, the short bread doesn't work as well for sandwiches. So I found a new pot in our collection of cast iron that will from here on out be my half-a-recipe pot. There's just one problem.....it looks like THIS...

ACK!!

So stay tuned for how to turn this disaster into a beautiful cast iron bread making machine!!! :)

But for now, here's the whole bread recipe in a nutshell:

3 C bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
2T chopped roasted garlic
2T chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 C toasted pine nuts (optional)

Mix everything together well except for the water. Add water and mix until it's all combined (you might need to add an additional small splash of water or 2 -- just enough to be able to combine all the dry ingredients). Cover with saran wrap and let sit on the counter for 12-18 hours (DO NOT REFRIGERATE!). Pour dough onto well-floured surface and make into a ball. Place dough ball onto well-floured cotton dishtowel (shake off the excess flour first). Loosely cover and let rest for an hour. Meanwhile, heat the pot and lid in the oven at 450. Flip bread into pot, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Immediately take out of the pot and let rest for an hour. DO NOT cut the bread before it finishes cooling completely (even if it smells like it needs to be cut and eaten immediately).

Bam. Bread. You're welcome.