Making Bagels and Overnight Artisan Bread

In my last post, I shared the recipe for that awesome cracker bread and today I'm going to show you two more great bread recipes that I learned from J'nae.  While we were making cracker bread, I mentioned to her, that I had always wanted to learn how to make bagels.  With the same dough that we used for the cracker bread, she proceeded to teach me how easy it is to make bagels at home.  She pinched off a piece of dough and made a hole in the middle with her thumb, and then we stretched it into a bagel shape.   

Of course, each one has its own unique shape, which is one thing I love about homemade bread.  

She carefully dropped the bagels into a pot of boiling water and flipped them over after 8 minutes.  Then they cooked for another 8 minutes and were removed to a parchment lined baking sheet.

We brushed the tops with an egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds, before returning to the oven to bake.

I loved the finished product, especially toasted the next morning with a little jam.  Yummy!

Our last baking project was a round, artisan bread.  My friend assured me this was the easiest bread to make and that I would love it!  Easy, because you mix it in a bowl and basically forget about it overnight.  Love it, because, well, she just knows me and bread. 

She mixed the bread dough by hand in this Rubbermaid take along bowl.  You can see that it's a pretty wet dough.  She put the lid on it and then we let it sit on the counter overnight.

The next morning it looked like this.  The surface was dotted with bubbles.

We poured it onto a floured counter and kneaded it about seven times to work some flour into the dough. This bread is called a No-Knead Bread, because you don't knead for the traditional amount of time required for most yeast breads.  Just six or seven times to make the dough workable.

We then coated the bowl with cooking spray and sprinkled sesame seeds on the bottom and around the sides.  

We put the ball of dough in the bowl, covered it and let it rise for about an hour and a half.  You can see how this bread doesn't require a lot of hands on time, but it does require time.  I like recipes like this though, because you can be doing other things while you wait.

When the dough is almost finished rising, you put a cast iron dutch oven, with lid, in the oven at 450 degrees for thirty minutes.  The oven and the pan need to be blazing hot before baking the bread.  Carefully remove the pan from oven.

Turn dough over into the hot pan.

Cover and bake for 27 minutes. Then uncover and continue baking for an additional 6 to 10 minutes or until browned to your liking.  Baking in a hot, covered, pan creates an environment that produces a chewy crust with a soft, tender interior.  

Let it cool on a wire rack before cutting. The hard part is waiting for it to cool enough to slice, because at this point the house smells so good, your taste buds are screaming!

Our artisan bread was made with garlic and italian seasonings, so you can probably imagine how delicious it was.  But the possibilities are endless.  Just think about your favorite rustic bread and you can create it with this recipe.  Parmesan olive, rosemary olive oil, cranberry almond, asiago cheese- they all sound divine don't they?  I'm so excited to try this bread at home.  I have a brotform basket that I received as a Christmas gift that I've been wanting to try out and it will be perfect for this bread.

This completed our baking marathon and boy oh boy was it fun.  You know you have a good friend when she spends all this time in the kitchen baking with you and she is on an eating plan that doesn't allow bread.  What torture!  I don't think I could have done it.  Thank you, thank you J'nae.  You're the best.  I know these recipes will become favorites at our house. 

Rustic Bread

3 cups flour

3/4 t. instant yeast

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 t. red wine vinegar

In large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt.  Mix ingredients to distribute evenly.  Add any dry spices or other ingredients (olives, nuts or seeds, etc.)  Add 1/2 t. red wine vinegar to water.  Mix with flour mixture and stir until flour is incorporated; dough should be pretty stiff... cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Let dough rest for at least 12 hours up to 18 hours at about 70 degrees.  When surface is dotted with bubbles, dough is ready.  After the 12-18 hour rest, place dough on well floured work surface and sprinkle dough with a light dusting of flour.  Gently knead about 7 times.   Spray a second large bowl with non stick spray.  Sprinkle bottom with sesame seeds if desired.  Transfer dough to oiled bowl, placing dough seam side down in bowl.  Cover and let rise until it has doubled in size and does not spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours. After dough has been rising for about 1 1/2 hour, preheat oven to 450 degrees for 30 minutes with covered dutch oven in oven.  Pot should be at least 4 to 8 qt.  When dough has risen for the allotted time, carefully remove hot pan from oven. Turn dough over into hot pan, now seam side up.  Cover and bake 27 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned.  Cool on wire rack.