2nd down

Well, I guess I'll be trying this blogging thing again.  So here it goes....I've recently met foodgawker, pinterest and yummly through my son.  I've stalk those sights constantly!!!   I keep waiting for my notice of restraining order!!  Yes it is that bad.  I've decided that I will make some of theses recipes and document how they turn out.   If I don't like an ingredient or do not have a particular ingredient I substitute, without hesitation.  So it is not always a bad recipe, the majority of time it is a bad follower.  I will note if I've changed something so you can be the judge of the mishap. 


This past week, I've decided that I'm going to try and learn to bake bread.  Since I fail at so many other attempts at cooking, there has to be something I can cook that everyone demands besides my spinach dip and my cream cheese pound cake.  There has to be.......


So off I went in search of an artisan bread recipe, hubs idea.  Of course, careful planner that I am, (not);  I did not have unbleached flour, but I had already thrown the yeast into the warm water.  So I used...gasp....bleached flour.  Failsafe if it doesn't work, right???

I used a recipe from www.somewhatsimple.com/quick-easy-crusty-artisan-bread/.  It was quick and easy and I decided at noon that I wanted to bake bread today. So between this and the other recipes that required 18 hours of rise time, this was the winner.    I decided that I didn't want to make two loaves so I halved the recipe. 

It was very simple to mix, but I struggled greatly with plopping it out on a pizza peel, whatever that is;  a quick google to Williams-Sonoma taught me what it is,  and that I don't have one.  So I used a plate..  Then about 10 minutes in decided it was getting a little too flat and put it back in the bowl I used for mixing.  I added olive oil, I don't know why, but it seemed the right thing to do.    Started the oven to heat my stone and then placed by blob of dough on it.   Note, putting it back into the bowl didn't help it rise.   I peeked through the door about 15 minutes in and holy cow.....It was now tall.   I just took it out. The house smells lovely and the outside of the bread is cripsy.   However, the inside is nice and soft.  The bread looks like it lost a major battle.  It is wider on one end than the other and has various lumps and bumps throughout.  But it isn't bad.  I'm now making a dipping sauce with olive oil and scilian seasons to dip my bread in.  I will later serve this with steak and green beans.  I am pleased with my attempt.  This is edible, a little bland but the dipping oil will help with that.  I may try a rosemary loaf next.   I am going to try one of the 18 hour rises next. Yep, feeling a little cocky since this is actually edible. 


Next time I won't half the recipe and I will let it rise on the plate instead of back to the bowl, I think that was my mistake.  I would up fighting with it a little in order to make it into a ball and I think I probably over kneaded it, since it is a no knead recipe.  All in all, I think it was the bleached flour that made it not as great as the raves from the site I used. 


My noles are off this weekend and I hope they are resting up for the Tigers next weekend.  It is a honor game for me, since 2 of my hubs cousins graduated from Clemson.  This has been an exciting season so far. 


GO NOLES!!

Nole House