This is a simple recipe with only 5 ingredients. Reading it through it may look complex but the recipe has been designed to be 'No Fail'. Even if you have never made bread before you should be able to make this.
INGREDIENTS In the order required
2 Tblspns active dry yeast for bread
2 Tblspns white sugar
1-1/2 Tblspns salt
4-1/4 Cups water at 110F to 115F
2 Tblspns white sugar
6 - 8 Cups all-purpose flour
2 - 3 Tblspns cornmeal
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Cup of water
UTENSILS In the order required
Large mixing bowl
Measuring spoons
Measuring cup
Stainless steel whisk
Wooden stirring spoon
Sharp knife
Tea towel large enough to cover mixing bowl
Large cookie sheet with sides
9" x 12" brownie pan with 2" sides
Tea kettle
Spatula
Cooling racks
DIRECTIONS Oven Preparation
Make sure that there are two racks in the oven and that they are in the bottom 2 positions
Make sure that the mixing bowl will fit in the oven on the upper rack
Turn on the oven to 200F
Turn oven off when temperature reaches 200F
Yeast Preparation
While oven is warming up
Turn on hot water tap
While water heats up
Add first three ingredients to large mixing bowl
Water should be lukewarm to slightly hot - 110F to 115F
Hotter water will kill the yeast
Add 4-1/4 cups of water to the large mixing bowl
Stir with whisk - mix well
Let stand 10 minutes
See note below
Add 2 Tblspns of white sugar and whisk well
Note
Mixture should be foamy and at least 1/3 again larger in size
If not, you should start again with fresh yeast
Making Dough
Add 2 cups of flour
Whisk well to remove the lumps and mix in dry flour
Add 2 more cups of flour
Whisk well to remove the lumps and mix in dry flour
It will become heavy going with the whisk by this point
Remove as much dough as possible from the whisk and set aside for washing
From this point on, a wooden spoon makes a good stirrer
Add 1 cup of flour and stir in well
Continue adding decreasing amounts of flour until the dough stops sticking together when it is folded
This may take as little as 1/2 a cup and as much as 3 cups
Use knife to scrape excess dough from spoon
Cover dough with tea towel
Let rise in oven for 60 minutes
Baking Preparation
Prepare a large cookie sheet (with edges) by sprinkling the surface generously with cornmeal
Do not move the cookie sheet after the cornmeal has been sprinkled
Get out a brownie pan with 2" high sides (ideally 9" x 12") and set aside
Use 1 cup of flour to prepare a floured surface for the dough
Before removing dough from oven but after the timer has gone off
Fill tea kettle 3/4 full and put on to boil
When it reaches a boil - turn off
Remove the dough from the bowl by pouring and follow the dough out by scraping the bowl at the sticky points with the wooden spoon
Set wooden spoon aside for washing
Make sure hands are well floured
Flip dough over and back several times to make sure that "wet" areas receive flour and knead by folding over and pushing down 3 or 4 times
Cut dough in half with knife
Keep hands well floured and make each half into a round loaf by gently pushing and pulling the edges under and towards the center (Do not allow the top to break open - If it does, stop there - Do not try to rework the loaf)
Put one edge of the loaf at the center of the cookie sheet
Put the second loaf comfortably snuggling up to the first
Put loaves in oven and let rise for 3 - 4 minutes or until the kettle boils
Take the loaves out of the oven and slash the tops with a sharp knife up to 3 slashes per loaf
Gently pat the surface of the loaves with fingers dipped in water - Do not over do it - This makes the bread crusty
Put the loaves back in the oven
Pull out the lower rack and put the brownies pan in the center - in the same direction as the cookie sheet - half fill the pan with water from the kettle - Gently push the rack back into the oven
Baking & Finishing
Shut the oven door and set to 350F - Note that the oven is not pre-heated other than the residue heat from raising the dough
Set timer to 55 minutes
Loaves should sound hollow when tapped - If so they are done - They should also have a golden brown colour
Take the loaves out of the oven
Carefully slide out bottom rack and with oven mitts and pot holders, remove pan of hot water from the oven and dispose of it
Remove the loaves from the sheet within 10 minutes of removal from the oven If the loaves are stuck, slide a spatula underneath to loosen them
Break them apart in the middle and put on wire racks to cool
Loaves left out will be very crusty
Cooled loaves that are stored in plastic bags have a chewy crust
Shelf life is about 3 days
Cut left over heels and crusts in cubes and dry in the oven for croutons
Clean Up Mixing Bowl
Fill mixing bowl with hot water or immerse in a sink of hot water - let stand for 10 - 15 minutes DO NOT CLEAN WITH A DISH BRUSH!
Rub bowl with hands to remove dough - best to use rubber gloves - Rinse then wash with other dishes – a rubber spatula can be used to remove the dough
If the towel covering the dough during the rise in the oven had any dough sticking to it, let it sit until the dough has hardened and it will just peel off.
Cornmeal
Save the cornmeal from the cookie sheet - Store it in a jar - It can be re-used for the same purpose indefinitely - When making the next loaves, use cornmeal from the jar and supplement from a fresh package
Flour on Counter
If you have a sifter, scrape flour from counter into the sifter and sift flour back into bag or container - Do NOT overdo it - Put the remains in the compost
Note
There is no oil in this bread so that any waste can be composted