Jay’s Bread
My brother, Jay, makes amazing bread. This year at Thanksgiving, Elena wanted to learn how to make it. She and Jay put out an amazing couple of loafs of bread which we did our best to eat up while still hot. The finished product is crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. The amount of time it takes to rise really varies.
Time: About 1½ hours plus 12 to 18 hours’ rising (varies-we only needed 6 hours total on Thanksgiving)
Jay's Bread
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Ingredients:
All-purpose or bread flour: 3 ½ C
Yeast ¼ t
Sugar 2 t
Salt 1 ¼ t
Water 1 ½ c
Preparation:
1. Combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Set aside until frothy. Add to flour and salt stirring until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. If not, add a little more water and stir. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm location for 25 minutes.
2. Tug a corner of the dough and fold over, twist 1/4 turn and repeat 5 times. Cover and let rise another 25 minutes.
3. Repeat the folding action a total of 6 times.
4. Place the dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet and spritz with water. Let rise until double (this can be 1.5 hours or up to 8 hours depending on how warm the room is. If it takes longer than 2 hours to double, spritz the dough again with water to keep it from drying out.
5, At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake 40 minutes. Check to see if the dough is browned. If not, allow to bake for a few more minutes. Cool on a rack.
This will make one loaf. We doubled the recipe to make two. Wrap cooked loaf in a kitchen towel if not eaten immediately. Do not wrap in plastic as you will lose the crispy crust!