BREAD
Once upon a time I bought a bread maker. It was a big, white, bulky machine. I would put my ingredients (in a special order) into the pan, set the timer and it would work its magic. A couple hours later, I would have fresh baked bread and my house smelled like a bakery. A few years later the novelty wore off and that big, white, bulky bread machine took up too much space on my countertop and it ended up on a garage sale table. Fast forward to 2015, I am once again baking bread, minus the bread maker! I discovered a delicious bread recipe thanks to my "counterpart" (ahem) The Pioneer Woman. I happened to google a bread recipe and quite frankly I love Ree Drummond so when I read "The Bread" recipe by The Pioneer Woman I looked no further. It was so easy, easily adaptable and it absolutely delicious, I felt the need to share.
Ingredients:
3 C flour
8 oz. of water (or 1 cup.)
4 oz. melted butter (about a stick before melted)
chopped herbs of choice (I used basil and garlic)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon active or instant yeast. (I put this into the water before mixing with dry ingredients)
Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer. I use a kitchen aid one. If you don't have one, buy one! You will not regret it, trust me on that!
Mix the dough, with the dough hook, for about 10 minutes. I cleaned out a cabinet while mine mixed :) It is ready when the dough stretches without tearing (picture Stretch Armstrong). Place the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and cover with plastic wrap to rise (1-3 hours).
Once the dough has doubled in size, you will knead it a few times to distribute the yeast.
Preheat oven to 450°
Cut a large X into to the top of the dough. Place dough in a cast iron pan drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle additional oil on top of dough. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. I also sprinkled a little fresh Italian cheeses on top the last few minutes of baking. You don't have to use cheese, its still delicious without.
This recipe is simple and so yummy. Enjoy!
"Give us this day our daily bread" -Matthew 6:11
