This is a very simple recipe for bread. I learned this recipe about a year ago, and I completely stopped buying bread since then. It's ridiculously easy to make, and the texture, taste, and smell is amazing.
BREAD
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp yeast*
1 1/2 cups water
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*yeast: I used bread machine yeast in this video. If you use fresh yeast, use 7 grams, or about a teaspoon, and dissolve it in the water before you add the water to the flour. If you use regular yeast, dissolve it first, too. It helps if the water is lukewarm.
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Mix together the dry ingredients. Add water, slosh around. Mix into a fairly uniform ball. Cover and let rise for 3-5 hours. (if you want, you can put it in a WARMED oven - BUT TURN THE OVEN OFF - with pots of boiling water in the oven. This way, the yeast has the perfect environment to grow.) Once risen, turn out on to a floured surface. Roll into ball shape. Preheat a heat resistant pot with a cover at 450. Put the bread dough in the hot pot. Put it in the oven at 450 for 30 mins, then remove the cover. Finally, bake for 20 more minutes in the 450 oven. Cool on cooling rack. Enjoy hot with butter and jam.
Variations:
roll in cracked wheat, flax seeds, poppy, sesame seeds. Add in with the dry ingredients: herbs, olives, nuts, raisins, dried tomatoes, cheese. Substitute 1/4 cup of water with molasses. Double the recipe, half the recipe. Listen to Rush instead of King Crimson while making the bread.