When at first you don't succeed . . .

I finally cracked open my bread cookbook on Tuesday.  The title of the book is  Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  The reality of the situation is that you need more like 2 hours a day if you want to make a fresh loaf, but, of course, 1 hour and 55 minutes of it is just "wait time".  Once the dough is made, the hands on time is only 5 minutes.

However, this oversight on my part began what has become a string of failures on making bread.  Luckily the dough recipe makes enough for 6 loaves ... so the failures have been disappointing, but relatively painless.

Failure 1
I prepared a chunk of dough, let it sit out for 90 minutes, preheated the oven and pizza stone, did the last minute dough preparations, and placed the bread in the oven ... 5 minutes later I realized I had to leave to meet up with a friend.  So, out came the dough, already slightly cooked, to sit on the counter for several hours before I could try baking it again.  I assumed the whole in the oven, out of the oven, and then back in would not make for a good loaf, but I had to give it a try.  The result was a rock solid, inedible ball of "bread".

Failure 2
This failure was very minor.  As before, I went through all the preparations successfully.  I placed the dough in the oven and was able to take it out the recommended 30 minutes later.  It was still slightly undercooked inside ... this bread was still edible and quite yummy, but I wouldn't want to serve it to anyone.  Lesson learned - I know it needs an extra 5 minutes in my oven.

Failure 3
This failure may be my most disappointing.  My roommate and I were having some friends over for the evening.  I made haluski and thought some rye bread would be a good pairing with it.  The timing for the dough prep worked out well ... the bread and the haluski were going to be done within minutes of people arriving.  Perfect . . .  or not . . .  after the bread baking for over 10 minutes I realized that in my haste, I had just plopped the dough in the oven without the last minute preparations - cutting slits, brushing with water, and sprinkling with caraway seeds.  It all seemed so minor, until I opened the oven door to see if it was still turning out okay and looked at a over-puffed blob of dough.  In the end, it tasted fine, it just wasn't too attractive of a loaf.

I have enough dough for at least 3 more tries . . .  practice makes perfect, I hope :)

Here is the recipe that I have used for my rye bread:

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups rye flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 T granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 T kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (plus some for sprinkling on top crust)
4 cups lukewarm water

Mixing and Storing Dough

Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, caraway seeds, and vital wheat gluten

Add the water and mix without kneading, using a spoon

Cover (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top) ... about 2 hours

The dough can be used immediately or it can be refrigerated over the next 7 days.  Waiting at least 24 hours will give you better flavor. 

Baking Day

Cut off a 1 pound (grape-fruit size piece) of dough.

Dust the dough with flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.  Elongate the ball into a narrow oval.

Allow the loaf to rest for 90 minutes on a silicon mat prepared with cornmeal or parchment paper.

Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450F 30 minutes before baking.

Just before placing the loaf in the oven, brush the top with water, sprinkle with additional caraway seeds, and slash the loaf with 1/4-inch-deep parallel cuts using a serrated bread knife.

Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone.

Place a baking dish filled with 1 cup of tap water on the rack below the bread.

Cook the bread for 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow the bread to cool on a rack

As much as my bread-baking experiences thus far have been less than perfect, I am still loving it.  I love being able to make an amazingly delicious fresh loaf of bread fairly easily.  I also love being able to buy flour.  When I walk through the flour section of the grocery store I always want to buy all the different types - buckwheat flour, corn meal, wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour, etc - but I never have a reason.  Now I do!