Fast forward two weeks and I am going through major baking withdrawal. Like, I have clicked on this webpage about 30 times. Mmm... doesn't that look good? Each time, I go through my mental checklist: eggs- check, whipping cream- check, chocolate stout- no, but the co-op is open until 9:00... Rewind and repeat, night after night. Oh, then there's this lemon layer cake. Also, my mom made me a carrot cake for my birthday. It was good, but there's a major problem. I didn't get to eat seconds, or thirds, or fourths. Not even for breakfast (yes, carrot cake totally counts as proper breakfast food). So, now I'm back in Boise and I need to make carrot cake, but I can't. Oh, woe is me.
A few years ago, I heard that you can bake "artisan" bread in a dutch oven. I was intrigued, but I never tried because: 1. Baking bread scares me, and 2. Why bake bread when you can bake a cake? So, now's the time. I said I'd stop baking, but what I think I meant was that I'd stop baking sweets. So, I decided to become a bread baker. Who cares that today was the hottest day of the year, I needed to bake, darn it!
So, dutch oven bread attempt number one was using this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I made it because it didn't require a several hour rest/rise time. The bread was easy and the results were good. The crust was almost flaky, I suppose due to the amount of butter in the bread. My bread didn't look nearly as nice as the pictures posted with the recipe, but I was still proud of the results.
Well, it's another night and another loaf of bread. The second recipe I used was a bit more traditional. I found it here. When you are done reading the recipe, take a minute to peruse her site, her home is beautiful and creative. So, with the second recipe, I mixed the dough last night, then pulled it out of the fridge when I got home. The baking method was similar, starting with a pre heated dutch oven, baking for 15 minutes with the lid on, then removing the lid for the remainder of baking. This bread had a more traditional taste and texture, and was delicious while still warm. I did think it was pretty similar to french bread made in the bread maker, but it may be because it was the first time I made it. The recipe made enough dough for two loaves, so I'll bake the second half in a few days. I'm expecting that to be even better.
Neither recipe took more than a few minutes of hands on time, and there's nothing like fresh, homemade bread, so I'm sure I'll make them again, as well as trying a few different recipes. And if the leftovers somehow magically transform into chocolate bread pudding, it'll be solely to avoid wasting food. How admirable is that?
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