Glorious Bread!

I've had the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day from the library for, like, 3 months now. They just keep letting me renew it, so I'm keeping it! The authors of the cookbook made a recipe for Family Fun and I tried it out. Fabulous! Seriously. If you make this recipe, you will be singing "Bread glorious bread!" before long, I promise.

The Dough

2 c lukewarm water
1 1/2 T granulated yeast
1 1/2 T sea salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c honey
1/3 c canola oil
6 c unbleached all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour

In a large bowl or lidded container, stir together the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and oil or melted butter, then mix in the flours. If needed, the last bit of flour can be incorporated with wet hands.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it collapses on top, about 2 hours.

Use the dough immediately or refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next five days. It can also be frozen in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to one month (we recommend freezing the dough in 1-pound portions for ease of use). Frozen dough can be shaped, rested, and baked after it has defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. To cut a recipe's worth of dough from the bulk batch, dust the surface of the dough with flour, then use kitchen shears or a knife to snip off what you need.

The Bread

Lightly grease an 8-1/2- by 4-1/2-inch nonstick loaf pan. To help the dough hold its shape while it rises, cloak it: dust it with flour, then quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface and tucking it under the bottom, then rotating it a quarter-turn as you work.

Stretch the ball into a loaf shape as shown and place it in the pan (it should be about three-quarters full). Let the dough rest for 90 minutes covered loosely with plastic wrap, 60 minutes if you're using fresh, unrefrigerated dough.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash, then use a sharp, serrated bread knife to make three cuts across the top. Place the loaf on the oven's center rack and bake it until it's brown and firm, about 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.


YUUUUUUUMMMMM!