Artisan Bread

I borrowed the book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day  from the library after hearing so many good reviews on it. Since then we have been enjoying homemade Artisan Bread. Yummmm so good! 

The Process:
The book says, "no kneading is necessary" only need to mix with spatula for 5 minutes or so but with two kiddos I found it's easier to just dump all the ingredients in the bread machine and click:


After the kneading is done, I just let it rise there and then move the dough to a lidded container


Then store the dough in the refrigerator then use it over the next couple of weeks.


Artisan Bread 
To make 2 of 1-pound loaves (half of the original recipe)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups luke warm water
3/4 tablespoons yeast (3/4 packets)
3/4 Tbs kosher salt
3 1/4 unbleached all purpose white four

Direction (the way I do it):
1. Warm the water
2. Pour the water inside the bread machine (or use Kitchen Aid with dough attachment), add yeast, salt, then mix in the flour. I use a Zojirushi bread maker, turn off the pre-heat option, then set it to dough option. Once it is done kneading (about 10 min if using Kitchen Aid on low speed), 
3. Cover the container, let it rise (I just leave mine in the bread maker) for 2 hours then put the dough inside a lidded (not air tight) container in the fridge ( use it over the next couple of weeks)
When I am ready to bake:
5. Pull and cut the dough in half then shape a loaf see video on how to do it here, 
6. Let it rise on parchment paper cover pizza peel ( I don't have pizza peel so I put mine on top of wood cutting board) for about 40 minutes
7. Preheat the oven to 500F for 20 min with baking stone in the middle of the rack and broiler tray on the bottom rack 
8. Dust the top of the loaf with flour then slash a 1/2 inch deep into the top, using a bread knife

9. Slide the bread (with the parchment paper) on top of baking stone in the oven. Put a cup of hot water in the broiler tray (this is optional I think because one day I forgot to put this and the bread turned out to be better (according to hubby).
10. Turn down the oven to 400F (because parchment paper only allowed temp up to 425) then bake for 30 minutes.
11. Allow the bread to cool before cutting and eat it. I like to eat mine with balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!