At play in the kitchen

Since I’ve been unemployed I’ve had a chance to play in the kitchen more than I used to. Baking bread used to be something to try someday… well 5 months ago, someday came. Since then I’ve tried several different kinds of bread.

In my experimenting, I’ve focused on two different methods; one is from the book (and website) Artisanal Bread in Five Minutes a Day and the second involved purchasing a sourdough starter from King Arthur Flour and learning different ways to use Stanley. (Yes, I named my starter Stanley – for those unfamiliar, keeping sourdough starter is like having a pet so we named it.)

Both have been fun and rewarding, and by rewarding I mean providing family and friends with lots of good bread. The five minutes a day approach is great if you want good bread on a regular basis and don’t have a lot of time. Making sourdough at home is a more of a commitment, both to your starter and to finding recipes and procedures that work for you.

Today’s bread was “Duonyte's No-Knead Sourdough Bread”. I’ve tried this recipe before and it comes out great. I modify it a bit by using half wheat flour and half bread flour. I also prefer doing it on a baking stone instead of in a Dutch oven. However, when making that switch, I keep a broiler pan in the oven and add a cup of hot water when adding the dough. (This keeps the oven moist and makes for a crisp crust.)

Let me know in the comments section if you try it or have any questions.