Home-Made Bread - YUM!

Today I made my first bread dough from Peter Reinhart's luscious book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. The recipe is called "Pain a l'Ancienne, which follows a delayed-fermentation method that depends on really cold water. Basically, you mix up the dough in about 15 minutes, then pop it in the fridge overnight. The next day you let it warm up at room temp for about three hours, so it can continue fermenting. 

After cutting the dough in half, you cut each half into 3 pieces, forming six baguettes. To bake, you pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes (or until internal temp registers at least 205 degrees).

The first batch I made by adding steam to the oven. But my kitchen smoke detector kept going off (which I'm sure thrilled my neighbors), so the second batch I made without adding steam. I don't think it made much difference in either appearance or taste.

The crust was nicely carmelized, but the bread didn't have as strong a flavor as I'd hoped, considering the recipe says the dough has a "natural sweetness" and "nutlike character." I plan to add some fresh herbs the next time I make it, and perhaps a sprinkle of sea salt to the tops.

But as this bread was so incredibly easy to make, and looked pretty enough to take to a dinner party, I definitely give it a thumbs-up.

Here are the pics: