5 Minute Bread

Please don't roll your eyes and say you don't have time to make fresh bread. 🙄 This is a wonderful EASY bread recipe, and really does only take 5 minutes to mix up.  It doesn't even make a big mess of dirty dishes. The dough is very versatile: it can serve as the basis for a baquette, dinner roll, pizza crust or pita bread. The dough keeps in the frig unbaked for days so you can pull off just enough for a meal and the rest waits happily for next time.

I am giving you my shortened version of the instructions; the original can be found HERE  or in this book that I highly recommend! ($19 on Amazon). 

Last week I showed you some pita bread alongside my Muhumara. Let me tell you how to make those using this dough. 

Using dough that is at the point you would shape it into a loaf,  pinch off some dough the size of an orange.  Dust it with flour, then roll it or pat it into a disc about 1/4" thick. Heat a skillet (preferably cast iron) to high heat, place the dough disk on the pan. The dough will puff up and get nice brown spots after 2 or 3 minutes.  Flip it over and cook till the second side gets the nice brown spots. Remove it to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm while you cook others.

5-Minute Artisan Bread (1/2 recipe)

1 1/2 cu lukewarm water

1/2 Tbl granulated active dry yeast

1/2 Tbl kosher salt

3 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour*

Measure dry ingredients into the bowl of your mixer: flour, then yeast on one side of the bowl, salt on the other*.  Add the water, mix until the dough comes together in a ball. Scrape the bowl with a spatula if some flour remains in bottom or on sides, just to make sure it gets incorporated. If the dough is too soft to form a ball, add more flour 1 tbl at a time.  Mix another minute or two until the dough is smooth.  Scrape dough off the beater, cover the bowl with a towel.  

That's it. Go sit down for a while & have a cup of tea.  

If you don't intend to bake your bread that day, at this point you can cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.  It will keep for 2 or 3 days. Remove it from the frig 30-60 minutes before you want to bake to allow it to reach room temp & rise a little.

After an hour or two at room temperature the dough should be doubled in size.  Shape it into torpedo shaped baquettes or rolls. Place on a baking sheet and let them rest until the loaves look puffy and almost doubled. Brush gently with a beaten egg for a shiny crust or with melted butter for a softer crust.  Bake at 425°F  for 20-25 mins. It is done when the interal temperature is 190°F, or the loaf sounds hollow when you rap on the bottom.

*This is what our instructor chef at Culinary Institute told me.   Salt can kill the yeast in high enough concentrations.  By putting them on opposite sides of the bowl, they get mixed together gradually and the yeast doesn't get shocked by sudden exposure to the salt.