MATT MAKES BREAD - TAKE ONE

DO YOU LIKE DENSE BREAD?

Pine Tree Post | Food Page

Bread. The simple food. Made from only a few ingredients, it has sustained humanity for eons. This sounds like a food that should be simple to make and second nature to any human...right?

Not so, as Matt found out. His first attempt at making bread resulted in a loaf that tasted fine, but, left plenty of room for improvement - especially in the texture department.

The recipe he used was from Cold Antler Farm, a homesteading memoir book he recently read.
With only four ingredients and simple instructions this sounded like it should have been a cake walk.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

3 cups flour, half whole half white

1 teaspoon salt

To best describe the process we will print the correct instructions in black and we will print Matt's actions in RED.

Step 1: Add dry active yeast to warm water and wait 5 minutes until foamy/bubbling.
Step 1: Add boiling water to yeast and add other ingredients right away.

Step 1 - combine warm water and yeast, wait 5 minutes for yeast to activate

Step 2: Add flour to foamy liquid one cup at a time. Mix thoroughly.
Step 2: Dump all ingredients into bowl. Allow 2 year old to play with dough.

Warning : the dough may fly around the kitchen - it sticks to walls, appliances, pets...

Spoon may become stuck. Adult help may be required.

Dough is attracted to hands. Wash after mixing. You may want to wash before mixing as well.

Step 3: Cover bowl with a damp cloth and allow dough to rise for 8 - 12 hours. Dough should double in size.
Step 3: Cover bowl with damp cloth. Come back 12 hours later to find dough the same size. Do not worry and continue on with process.

Dough should double in size. If it does not, you should not continue the process.

Step 4: Fold dough over many times and allow to raise another 1 - 2 hours until it has doubled again.
Step 4: Fold dough over a few times, sprinkle counter top with flour, take picture for blog.

Step 5: Once dough has risen, place in oven at 450 for 30-35 mins.
Step 5: Ignore second raising process, 15 minutes should be long enough. Bake at 450 for 35 mins.
 

Picture perfect crust!

Step 6: Allow bread to cool before cutting into it.
Step 6: Allow bread to cool. Cut into it and be shocked by the colour and dense consistency. Do not swear in front of the children.

Dark interior is not a good sign.

Brave testers of this bread commented that the taste was delicious, however, the slightly doughy-hard-to-bite-through denseness of the bread was the major downfall.
Next time Matt will not kill the yeast with boiling water and will allow sufficient time for the bread to rise.

Kingston | 1:11