Homemade Bread with Almost NO Kneeding!

We eat a lot of bread.  A LOT OF BREAD. My youngest now eats just about everything and anything we give her. And all three girls LOVE pb&j sandwiches, "gorilla" cheese sandwiches, and toast with eggs. And did I mention my hubby and I love hunks of bread smothered in butter, or avocado, or brie - just for a snack? Well as you can imagine, we go through bread FAST!

I like to make my own bread for a verity of reasons. One, I know precisely what is in it. Two, it is WAY cheaper to make your own (I save even more by buying my flour and yeast in bulk from Costco).  And three, it just tastes better! A few years back my friend Mary gave me a book that radically changed how I make bread -  Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day. It is a fabulous book and I highly recommend it if you are interested in making all kinds of bread with little effort. Basically this method has you make the dough one day, stick it in the fridge, and then bake the next day. I took the basic dough recipe from the book and tweaked it a little for our taste. The recipe below makes about 3 loaves of bread and I've been known to double it. Did I mention we eat a lot of bread?  The dough is very versatile. Sometimes I bake it up in a loaf pan in the oven, and other times I will cook it up in the crock pot for a rustic round loaf (definitely my favorite method).  I also have commercial grade baguette pans that I use sometimes - this is my hubby's favorite. All methods use the same dough. And another great aspect of this method is that the the dough can stay in the fridge for up to a week! Try it, and I think you will agree that this method makes having homemade bread totally doable! So, without further ado, here is the recipe I use as well as the directions depending on the desired outcome. As always, let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS
3 cups warm water + 2 T. buttermilk powder (or just the water)
1 T. oil (olive or canola)
1 T. active yeast
1 T. salt
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour (no need to sift, just scoop and sweep the excess)

MAKING THE DOUGH
1) Add all the ingredients, in order, to a large container with a lid. I use a 10 quart snapwear container which is large enough for a double batch. Be sure whatever container you use, that you have room for it in your fridge.
2) Mix all the ingredients until all the flour has been incorporated. I use a large, stiff, rubber spatula so I can get into all the corners.  You can also use your hands if you don't mind the sticky dough.  It will be a big, wet sticky blob.
3) Place the lid on top, but do not seal it, and leave it in a draft free place to rise.  I leave mine on my counter and place a tea towel over the top.
4) Let rise for a minimum of 2 hours until it has at least doubled in volume (see pics below). You can let it sit out for up to five hours.
5) Your dough is now ready to use if you just can't wait.  HOWEVER, it is much easier to use is you wait a day. Simply put the lid on, pop it in the fridge, and you are good to go.  You can use it anytime, up to a week.

RUSTIC ROUND - BAKING THE BREAD (Crock pot version)
Equipment needed: Parchment paper & a crock pot.
1) Take a sheet of parchment and line the bottom & up the sides of your crock pot.  No need to be super careful, just get it in there and smooth it into the corners and up the side, making it as flat as possible.
2) Grab your dough out of the fridge. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, and with floured hands, grab off a grapefruit sized hunk of dough - approximately 1 lb.
3) Pull the sides towards the bottom, tucking under and dusting with flour as needed, until you have a smooth round ball.  Don't worry too much about making it perfect. This should be fast and not take too much time (see pics below).
4) Plop the dough into the crockpot, cover and turn on high.  Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It will be done when the bread is a light golden brown (see pics below).
5) Remove and cool for at least 45 minutes to an hour before cutting into it. Trust me, its best to wait. I will understand if you can't though!

NOTE: Once it has cooled completely you can pop it into a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer to have at another time. When it is time to eat it, simply place the frozen bread in a 350* oven and bake for 20 minutes or until warmed through. See picture on the right for what the loaf looks like after browning further in the oven. If you have a large freezer, this is a nice option to have home made bread ready to go for bringing with a meal to a sick friend, or when you suddenly have company coming and need a little something to stretch your meal.


SANDWICH & BAGUETTE- BAKING THE BREAD (makes 1 loaf)
Additional items needed: Loaf pan OR baguette pan, oil, plastic wrap
1) Oil the bottom and sides of your loaf or baguette pan.
2) Follow steps 2 & 3 above shaping in to an oblong shape for a loaf pan & long snakes shapes for the baguette pan.
4) Plop the dough into the prepared pan. Brush plastic wrap with oil and with the oil side down, place it over the dough. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to an hour. I place mine in the oven.  Just don't forget to take it out when you go to preheat the oven!
5) Preheat oven to 350* and bake the bread for 45 - 55 minutes for a loaf or 30 - 40 minutes for baguettes. It will be done when the bread is golden brown, and hollow sounding when you knock on it.
6) Remove and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool for an additional 45 minutes on a cooling rack before cutting into it.

NOTE:  If your kids are like mine, they prefer their crust soft. I let the loaf cool completely and then bag it and slice into it the next day.