Artisan Bread Recipe

On Saturday I made some rockin' bread. Seriously guys - this bread recipe is fool proof. So if you're scared to make homemade bread, try this recipe out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

The recipe is from my sweet neighbor Jessi. (Hope it's okay if I share it!)

I like to call it Jessi's Really Good Bread. The name is currently in transition to Artisan Bread (by Jessi), as Tyler says that is more descriptive.

6 cups flour

3 cups warm water

1.5 T salt

1.5 T yeast

1 egg, beaten

Mix all together except the egg. Let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled. Shape into loaves (probably two 1-lb. loaves) and slash the tops with a knife. Brush with beaten egg wash. Sprinkle seasonings on it. (I did one with toasted sesame seeds and one with basil, rosemary, and thyme.) Bake on a floured baking sheet in a 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, with a pan of water underneath (this helps the outside of the bread to get crispy like french bread.) Enjoy delicious homemade bread.

[ I used our bosch kitchen mixer, but I am sure kneading the dough by hand would turn out just the same. ]

Also, I discovered if you only need a teaspoon or two of a certain spice and you are fairly confident you won't use the aforementioned spice for a long, long time (if ever again), you can buy it in "bulk". I just went to Sunflower Market (our local farmer's market) and next to the bulk food they have spices in big jars. Just fill up a little baggie with however much you need and be on your way! While a pound of coriander was over $6, four or five tablespoons only cost me 10-cents. :) I would have spent around $3 or $4 a the grocery store buying a little jar of coriander, only to never have used to again.

{failure} + {success}

Yesterday's dinner was a complete disaster to say the least.

Okay, the entire dinner wasn't bad. We had a break-the-fast dinner party with two other couples at someone's house in the ward. Dinner was delicious; I even ate venison!

Tyler and I thought we'd bring some homemade bread, along with lemon bars. Luckily the lemon bars turned out to be a big hit. The bread literally exploded in the breadmaker. I don't know how it happened. For years growing up we made bread every Sunday, and I've never had an experience this bad. Tyler and I took our one-hour-long Sunday nap, and woke up to the smell of really rancid-burnt-something. It was one of the most disgusting smells that happened to completely consume our house. Oust (room spray) + three candles later, we still can't completely get rid of it. And on top of that and all my hysterical crying, Jason is showing the house to possible buyers this afternoon. Hopefully Tyler will be home and will explain that the house doesn't normally reek that bad.

I posted some pictures below so you can get the full effect, minus the smell. Actually, these pictures don't even come near to the full effect. You're lucky you didn't have to smell it all night. Hopefully my breadmaker still works okay. A special thanks to Tyler for spending so much time in the kitchen with that icky smell, trying to clean out the pan and breadmaker! He should have been featured on Dirty Jobs!!

Here is the pan as I found it, with the bread sunk in, partially-cooked, and spilling into the oven:

Here is the bread I tried to salvage from the pan, but we obviously couldn't take it to dinner with us! I sure wasn't claiming that! We ended up throwing it all away; it was only partially cooked.

Here is the bread pan in the sink. You can see how bad it spilled over.

On a better note, I'd like to share with you a cooking SUCCESS I had today.

Look at my delicious salad! YUM.
It's really refreshing for summertime.

INGREDIENTS:
Costco Spring Green Mix ($3.99 for what seems like a never-ending tub of leafy greens)
Reduced-fat Feta Cheese
Fresh Strawberries (we bought that huge thing at Costco, and they are some of the yummiest, juiciest strawberries I've ever had!)
Fresh Blueberries
Walnuts
Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (I happened to find this naturally fat-free, organic dressing at Smith's. It was like $2.50 or cheaper.)

For a variation, replace the strawberries with chopped up Fuji or Gala apples. I also perfected a homemade dressing that complements the apple really well:
1 part olive oil
1 part apple cider vinegar
a healthy squeeze of honey

Enjoy!!