Artisan Bread

The sweet smell of fresh bread from a bakery is a moment I know all too well : the moment my taste buds activate and my stomach starts grumbling as loud as thunder. My love of carbohydrates runs deep and is nothing short of a passionate love affair. However, seeing as I have neither a bakery within walking distance or a car at my disposal, I was driven to seek alternatives to feed my cravings.

My solution : bake some freakin' bread!

After scouring the internet for a suitable recipe, I stumbled across this one from Real Life Dinner, and decided to give it a go.

Artisan Bread

Author: Maria

Recipe type: Crusty Artisan Bread

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4-5 cups flour
• 2 tbsp corn meal

Instructions

1. Add yeast to warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes
2. Sprinkle 2 tbsp corn meal onto a large baking sheet
3. Add sugar, salt and olive oil to yeast water mixture
4. Add the flour starting with four cups
5. Mix/knead by hand or in your mixer until dough comes together and no longer sticks to edges of bowl.you will most likely need to add the additional fifth cup of flour (once it is not sticking continue to knead for 3-5 minutes)
6. With floured hands divide dough into two equal pieces and form each piece into a ball
7. Place dough balls (4-5 inches apart) on the baking sheet that has been sprinkled with corn meal (make sure each dough ball is coated generously with flour)
8. Using a serrated knife, make a tic tac toe design on the top of each ball
9. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 40-60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size
10. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
11. Uncover dough that has doubled in size and place on middle rack in your preheated oven
12. Throw 3-4 ice cubes in the bottom of the oven and close door (this is the magic step that makes the crust on the bread AMAZING!
13. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bread is golden brown
14. Remove bread from oven and cool on rack

After completing this recipe, I have 2 main comments:

1) Total time is not accurate, seeing as you have to leave it to rise for 60min, so total time is more like 90min

2) THE ICE CUBE TRICK TOTALLY WORKED AND THIS BREAD IS FANTASTIC. The crust is crispy and the inside is soft and perfect.

I couldn't even wait for it to cool before I tried it, I just cut myself a piece right away and slathered a pat of butter on it. I can safely say that it was delicious and well worth your while.