A loaf of fresh, warm, crusty bread is one of life’s greatest delights, right? I have always enjoyed fresh baked bread, but several years ago I was tired of spending too much money at the local bakery and I really wanted to learn how to consistently make delicious, fresh bread at home. My grandma was a wonderful baker, and I loved her white bread recipe. But at this particular time in my life, I was a mom of several little ones, and my grandmother’s beloved bread recipe, with included several raise times and punch-downs, seemed out of the question.
Then serendipitously, my mom happened to be in Barnes & Noble one day while the authors of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day were promoting their new book. They were passing out samples of their delicious, fresh bread and my mom was immediately impressed. She bought a copy of the book for me, and I soon gave their 5 minute technique a try.
The first reading of the master recipe left me feeling a little suspicious. No special ingredients? No kneading? Refrigerated dough that could be pulled out and baked whenever convenient? I was skeptical, but having nothing to lose, I gave it a whirl.
And to my delight, the bread was absolutely delicious! The loaf was dense with a slightly chewy crust and a wonderful texture. And, this is hard to believe, but the dough really did take less than five minutes to mix together.
This has been many years ago now, and my mom, sisters-in-law and I have all used various adaptions of the original recipe to make hundreds of loaves of boules, baguettes, and even foccacia. We have started to call our adapted technique “bucket bread” because we mix and keep the refrigerated dough in a gallon ice cream bucket.
Something we love about this recipe is that it is so very versatile! We use the dough in boule (round loaves), for baguettes, for caramel pecan rolls, for stuffed Italian meat and cheese bread, and for homemade pizza.
I have made lots of tweaks and adaptations over the years, and the following recipe is my take on the original. This recipe and technique has been such a blessing to my family! Several times a week, we get to have fresh bread that is affordable and takes such little work. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.
Quick and Easy Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 c. lukewarm room temperature water
- 2 T. granulated yeast two packets
- 1 1/2 T. salt
- 6 1/2 c. unsifted all-purpose white flour
Instructions
- Warm the water slightly, and pour into a gallon ice cream bucket container.
- Add yeast and salt to the water. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolved.
- Mix in the flour. Add all of the flour at once. Mix with a wooden spoon. Don't knead! You're finished with everything once it is uniformly moist.
- Allow to rise at room temp for approximately 2 hours or up to as many as 5 hours. Cover with lid that fits well, but is not airtight. (This is why an ice cream bucket works well). Refrigerate. Keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- When you're ready to bake a loaf of bread, spray the baking pan with olive oil cooking spray.
- When ready to use the dough, sprinkle the surface of refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off 1-pound piece of dough, which is the size of a large grapefruit. Gently and quickly stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating as you go. Keep in a ball shape for a boule, or elongate and form into a cylinder 3 inches in diameter for a baguette.
- Let the dough rest on the baking sheet or in the baguette pan for 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, and put a broiler tray on the bottom rack of the oven so that it is getting hot as well.
- When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, slash the top with a very sharp knife. I use a cross shape for a boule and three diagonal lines for a baguette. Place the baking sheet on the top rack and add two cups of very hot water to the baking tray. (The steam makes a chewier, more dense crust.)
- Bake a boule for 40 minutes or a baguette for 30 minutes. A loaf will be ready when the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool completely.
My sister-in-law Molly uses the original recipe’s technique of a pizza peel and corn meal. Check out her technique here.
