Bread of My Life

picture courtesy of Charlie Burke (my bread didn't turn out this dark)

I love European-style, artisinal bread. I love the thick, chewy, crackly crust and the texture of irregular holes in the inside. I have used many recipes that claim to be able to produce this kind of loaf and each and every time I have been vastly disappointed with the results. I finally resigned myself to this fact, realizing that the professional breads I like so much are, by default, made in professional ovens, which I will never own.

I had resigned myself, that is, until yesterday.

I found an amazingly simple recipe for a loaf of bread that comes out of the oven perfectly--the crust is nicely browned, thick, crackly, and very flavorful. The inside is moist, chewy, and the holes are nicely irregular. This is the perfect bread to accompany soups and to make into sandwiches (because it holds up really well, unlike some homemade breads), or to just eat and eat and eat, as I do.

The best part of this recipe? There is absolutely no kneading involved. None whatsoever. You mix the (four) ingredients, put them in a bowl, and let them rise for a day. It is by far the easiest bread recipe I have ever made, but it is also the best.

Here is the recipe. It is by a man named Charlie Burke, who got it from Mark Bittman's column in the New York Times. Don't know who Mark Bittman is? Neither did I. Apparently he is somewhat of a recipe expert.

The article is somewhat long because Charlie describes the reasoning behind the simplicity of the process, but it is worth the read. I won't copy the recipe onto here because you can just click on the link above, but I will give a couple of clarifications:

• The dough will be very, very, very sticky. I was tempted to put more flour in it because it didn't resemble dough that I am used to, but I didn't, and I was so glad.


• Yes, you really do cook it at 450 degrees. I think this is what makes the crust so perfect.


• When I took it out of the oven I buttered the top, as I usually do with bread, but I found that I liked it much better un-buttered. You can decide what you prefer, but I thought I'd let you know.


• The yeast this recipe calls for is Rapid Rise. I only had Active Dry yeast, which means that it needed two activation processes rather than the one the recipe calls for (just putting it in with the other ingredients). So, I mixed it with the tepid water first and let it sit for a little while, and then I added it to the other ingredients. Next time I make this I will used Rapid Rise to see if it makes a difference.

Ok. Well, this is far too long of a post for simply sharing a recipe, but I really love bread so I suppose I have gotten a little excited about this discovery. Really, this bread is so worth trying out that I wish I could send you each a loaf to taste for yourself. It is fool-proof, delicious, and it will change your life.

Or something like that.