Now that I am retired, I have a little more (OK, a lot more) time on my hands. One of the things I’ve been doing is cooking and baking. Today, the house filled with the delicious aroma of what I hope to make a regular thing — fresh baked bread.
I found a recipe last fall that offered “no knead” bread. I was skeptical. It calls for four simple ingredients added together, mixed in a bowl, then left to rise overnight in the refrigerator. Wait … in the FRIDGE?? I thought bread needed a warm place to rise. I gave it a shot and … it worked!
After 24 hours, the bread is about double in size. The recipe says pull it out of the fridge and form it into a ball … it even offers the option of cooking a third of it and stretching the dough out over a week! Again … I gave it a shot.
AH HA! Now is when you need the warm place. Fortunately, my oven has a “proof” setting, so I popped it into the oven (which heats to 100 degrees on that setting) and left it for an hour.
Next step, heat the oven to 450 and slide the Dutch oven in with the bread safely covered. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and leave it for another 15 minutes. The end result … Crusty, delicious, healthy, homemade bread!
I am grateful for the aroma and the flavor and the utter joy of warm, fresh bread!
There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Find something to be grateful for every day.
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