As I write, the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread is filling the house. It is amazing how that can instantly make one feel that all is right with the world.
Typically just the thought of making bread is a bit off-putting for me. Not only am I not a fan of kneading dough for half the day, I also am not a fan of putting so much time and energy (and flour) into something that may or may not be very good. I am the first to admit that I have not mastered the art (or is it a science?) of baking bread. Much to my chagrin, too, as my mother used to be a master bread maker when we were growing up. (She even used to grind her own wheat!)
And that is why I find myself this afternoon making bread for the second time in four days. Sophie Dahl's recipe is shockingly, almost scandalously, easy. All you do is mix everything up, give it a good stir, proof it, give it another stir, let it proof again, and bake. No kneading required — just a handy-dandy wooden spoon will do the trick. Also, thanks to the invention of instant yeast, it is relatively fast.
So anyway, as I made breakfast on Saturday morning, I thought it would also be a good time to get the bread going, with the idea that it would be fabulous to have later in the day. My newest trick (just learned on an episode of Cooks Country) is to put anything that needs to raise in the oven. All you do is this: turn the oven to 200°, right when it hits 200°, turn it off, put your dough in the middle of the oven and set about your other business. It works beautifully, too, particularly in a house that seems to run on the so cold go put a winter cardigan on even if it's July mode. While utilizing this brilliant trick on Saturday, I was also using the oven as a pancake warmer. When I reached in to get said pancakes for a very hungry little girl and her dad, I was rather annoyed, to say the least, to see that half the bread dough had fallen on top of our breakfast. I ended up tossing most of the pancakes out while trying to salvage the bread. (Thank goodness I still had lots of pancake batter left. And bacon, for that matter.)
One of the hazards (other than ruining your breakfast) of using your oven for proofing is what to do with whatever happens to be raising in the oven when you need to be pre-heating the very same oven. (I swear, I want two ovens in our next house! Oh, and maybe a bit more drawer space.) For some reason or another, it had seemed like a marvelous (and by marvelous, I mean desperate) idea to simply pre-heat the oven while the bread was still raising in it. Bad idea, I know. I'm open to suggestions. What happens is that the bread comes out terribly flat on the top and I'm sure all sorts of other scientific things happen as well. But even Miss Dahl's looks flat on the top. It just isn't so noticeable when it is placed in what looks like the middle of a gorgeous Anthropologie photo spread.
We ate the disastrous loaf of bread Saturday afternoon with lots of butter and steaming bowls of soup. Then we ate the rest Sunday morning for breakfast. Michael kept saying, 'what a nice little breakfast!', much to my vain heart's delight. And, strangely enough, I totally agreed. Despite the troublesome process, the bread was really very good. Even Emilia liked it. We toasted it with butter and jam, had little cups of yogurt, and broiled papaya with lime (also from Sophie Dahl's cookbook). Not to mention cup after cup of strong tea (for me), strong coffee (for Michael), and plenty of smiles from Miss Milia's happy and jam-covered little face.
The newest loaves have just come out of the oven. They still look slightly wonky, but I'm alright with that.
Musician's Bread (Called so in honor of Jamie Cullum, apparently.)
4 cups whole wheat flour (or spelt)
1 cup rolled oats
1 large tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 ½ cups warm water (100°-110°)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 tablespoon honey
In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients. In a large Pyrex measuring cup, combine the water, oil, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a wooden spoon. (This is the part that throws me, because I feel almost obligated to be miserable and knead it all day. Nice, isn't it?) Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm spot (or 200° oven) for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, stir the dough (it should have doubled in size). According to Miss Dahl, you should now put the dough into an oiled bread pan. (On account of the fact that mine rose and then ruined the pancakes, today I divvied it into two pans.) Put the pan(s) back into a warm spot (i.e. the oven) and wait a further 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake bread for 45 minutes to an hour. Miss Dahl suggests serving the bread with butter, mustard, and Parma ham (à la Jamie Cullum); or, with butter and marmalade (à la her own lovely self). Either way would be splendid. As you already know, we've had it both savory and sweet, and have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. (Recipe from: Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl. Harper Collins, 2009.)
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