Bread Boule in 5 Minutes - a photo essay with recipe.

Our newspaper the Hamilton Spectator dug deep into their recipe archives and shared recipes that were comment creators for the paper. I saw this recipe before Christmas and made it, loved it and thought about sharing it. When my neighbors came around to help clean out the driveway after the big snow we had recently I decided to make it again and share it with them. I just went on line to see if I could find it again because the scan I took from the paper was hard to read and it was there - first posted in 2007.

The paper back in 2007 was reviewing a book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Thomas Dunne Books),

It fascinated me because it was so easy to make and had no kneading. It took 5 minutes to make, around 4 hours to rise. another few minutes to shape the dough and it rested 40 minutes and then went into the oven and smelled wonderful.

It also can be a large batch of refrigerator-friendly, no-knead bread dough that, following a standard rise, can keep for up to two weeks. Each day, the desired amount of dough can be removed from the batch, shaped and baked (the basic recipe produces three to four small loaves). Total active time each day you bake is about five minutes.

I shared it with the neighbors and we enjoyed a Boule for ourselves.

On case you're wondering Boule is Ball in French.

Here is the recipe:

Bread Boule in 5 Minutes a Day

Makes four 1-lb (450-g) loaves

* 3 cups (750 mL) lukewarm water (about 38 C/100 F)

* 1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) granulated yeast

* 1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) kosher OR other coarse salt

* 6 1/2 cups (1.625 L) all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)

* Cornmeal, for the pizza paddle

In a 5-qt (5-L) bowl, combine water, yeast and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist.

It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are wet.

This will produce a loose and very wet dough.

Cover with a lid (not airtight) or plastic wrap with several holes poked into it. Allow mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours but no more than 5 hours.

After rising, the dough can be baked immediately or tightly covered and refrigerated for up to 14 days.

The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.

To bake, prepare a pizza paddle by sprinkling it with cornmeal or overturn a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal.

This will prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven.

Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-lb (450-g) piece of dough, which is about the size of a grapefruit (serrated knives work best). Recover remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.

Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick.

Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the dough as you go.

While stretching, most of the dusting flour will fall off.

The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. This shaping should take no more than 1 minute.

Place dough on the paddle or overturned baking sheet. Allow loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread might not rise much during this time; this is normal.

Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the centre rack of the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks.

Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C).

When dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch (6-mm) deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.

Slide loaf off the paddle or overturned baking sheet and onto the baking stone.

Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup (250 mL) of hot water into the broiler tray and close oven door.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.

Allow bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

Approximate nutrition per serving: 100 calories, 0 g fat, 3 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 1 g fibre

And it is delicious!

My camera  - Canon Powershot A720IS