- It’s ok for it to not be perfect.
- It’s ok to not be exact.
- It’s ok to start the dough whenever you have time.
It’s great to think ahead, to measure things perfectly and to bake at the exact temperatures needed but the fact is that I’ve found bread forgiving. If you’re looking for consistent loafs that look the same every time, that requires attention to detail. If you’re like me and don’t mind things coming out different, you can play with it. I’m making bread to eat daily and I don’t want to stress myself over minute details. If you have at least 4-5 hours of time to let the dough rise, you can find a recipe that can work. An example of imperfection in my kitchen is that I’ve had dough that wasn’t rising after 8 hours. I added some more flour, some water, and some more yeast, boom! The dough started to move and it turned out OK.
Two things that you’ll always want to have on hand. Flour and yeast. Yeast can be bought in bulk and stored in an air tight container in the fridge. That’s all you need!
Here’s a quick picture of what’s happening in the kitchen this morning. We don’t buy much bread from the store these days. Each morning consists of taking the dog out, making breakfast, prepping lunch, coffee, and starting the fire in the wood stove. Once Mallory is out the door for work, I prep the dough that’s been rising overnight. Today there are two bread products being made. One is the no knead bread baked in the Dutch oven, the other is a no knead baguette recipe that I’ve turned Into a roll recipe. It Making bread consistently means always having something rising. In our house, bread is made every two to three days. Having fresh bread around makes for easy meals like egg on toast in the morning. The rolls are great for sandwiches or as substitute buns for burgers. It can be a lot of work but if you build it into your routine it can make it much easier. The bread is better than store bought, we use flour from either King Arthur or bobs red mill, it’s much cheaper and the flour is from a B corporation that supports sustainable practices. At roughly a dollar a loaf or 10 cents a roll, you can’t beat it.
dirt and diy 