We're Rolling in the Dough

Yes, we're rolling in the dough. We have more dough than most. I bet I have more dough in my kitchen than you do right now. Literally.

I'm starting to bake bread again. I love to do it, but it takes being at home all day to do the kind of bread I like. I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes for breads. Some are easy, some are harder, but they're all good recipes.

Easiest, great-tasting, impressive-looking bread: The famous No-Knead Bread. It takes a long time to make--18-20 hours in all--but it's not much work during that time. Basically, bread needs to develop gluten to catch the bubbles to make bread rise. Gluten is a protein that makes dough elastic-y and springy. You can get gluten to develop in two ways: agitate and stretch the flour when it's wet (kneading), or letting the gluten develop over time, by just sitting there, for hours. When flour gets wet, it will naturally develop the gluten. The No-Knead Bread recipe takes advantage of this property, so it gives your mixer (or elbows) a break, while still producing a beautiful loaf. Special equipment: a cast-iron pot with a lid, or a casserole with a lid that can be baked to 500 degrees. I use my Le Creuset. Yes, I got it as a gift. No, I don't have that kind of dough.

High-hopes, but yet untested bread: Whole-wheat No-Knead Bread. It's sitting in my kitchen right now, ready for step 2. I'm nervous. Stay tuned.

Best thick-crust pizza dough: No-roll Pizza Dough. I just make the dough as directed, and substitute my own toppings. It's like a foccacia, and so SO good. This dough develops gluten over time by blending the two methods: a big ol' kneading session in your mixer, and sitting there for a while. The dough is a gelatinous, pancake-batter-like substance that you pour into a cookie sheet to bake. Excellent. EXCELLENT. In fact, I think I'm going to make it for dinner tonight. I make sausage, rosemary, & mozzarella, with a marinara dipping sauce. Sauce applied directly to this pizza doesn't work well.

Best Bread Cookbook: The Bread Baker's Apprentice. This is the book where I get the recipes for flat-crust pizza dough, bagels, multi grain bread, baguettes, et. al. Hands down the most worn-out book I own. Katie got it for me for my birthday two years ago. The spine is already worn. Flour falls out of the pages. Highly recommend.

That's all for now. I'm off to brave step 2 on my No Knead Whole Wheat. We'll see how this turns out...