Bread House
My son was away at college when the pandemic hit us all. They closed his school, and he returned to stay with my wife, Martha, and me. At the time, we all thought this would only be for a few days. As months passed, we found ways to adjust to our new reality and keep the positivity up as much as possible. This extra time and having our family under one roof was a blessing that left us feeling grateful and happy to have Nano close. We decided to enjoy every moment together as a family and do things we never did before. For Nano, it was about food. So he started his cooking lab in our kitchen.
It all started with a messy pantry with a ton of dirty dishes and flour all over the kitchen island. He was learning to bake bread.
In the beginning, some loaves were undercooked. Some burned, some were salty, but Nano never gave up until we realized he was baking something extraordinary. He made the most fantastic bread with perfect crust on the outside, and fluffy, rich texture on the inside. The best part was that every time he baked, the smell of bread filled our entire home. That smell brought a deep sense of comfort, knowing that everything would be okay if we stayed together happy and finding those little moments that make it all worthwhile.
He was up to something that we never understood until now. He's back in college, learning a new way of building a future for himself and making us both so proud. But before leaving, he found a way to remain close to home. Every time we grab one of the multiple loaves of bread he left for us in the freezer, it's like having him here: talking, laughing, joking, sharing, baking …
It's that warm feeling that we got from the moment he was born, making everything feel perfect.
El Pan de Fer
INGREDIENTS
- 7 ¾ cups white all-purpose flour (unbleached if possible; however, the regular kind works)
- One packet of quick-acting dried baking yeast (or if you're a real pro, one tablespoon of sourdough starter)
- 1 1/3 teaspoons Kosher salt
- Olive oil
- Water: (720 g) or 3 ⅛ cups
MATERIALS
- Dutch oven
- Large bowl
- Baking scale (optional but helpful)
- Bread proofing basket
PREPARATION
In a large bowl place your flour and run your sink tap till the water gets fairly warm. When you feel like the water is just at the point where it begins to scald, measure the water quantity, and place it into the bowl with the flour. Allow for the water to sit just long enough not to be uncomfortably hot and mix with your hands. At this point, the dough will be rather sticky to your hands and hard to work with. Once the water is fully incorporated, leave the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes. Once you've let your water and flour mixture sit, add the yeast package, and salt. Combine vigorously by hand. Fold over the flour in a clockwise motion always keeping it inside of the mixing bowl. Work the flour till you feel the salt and yeast have been fully hydrated and you can no longer feel any clumps of dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl add a teaspoon of olive oil and fully coat the inside of the bowl. Transfer your bread dough into the bowl with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm area of the kitchen (best if placed somewhere with direct sunlight) and allow it to rise for a minimum of 4 hours (overnight is ideal). Once it has risen for the appropriate amount of time, take the dough out of the bowl and place it onto a heavily floured surface. Morph the dough into a soft round shape and cut in half (this recipe will yield two loaves of bread). Once again round one of the dough halves and place it into your heavily floured proofing basket. Allow for the dough to proof in the basket for a minimum of 1 hour. Place your empty Dutch oven into the oven and preheat to 475 degrees, and allow for the Dutch oven to warm up for 50 minutes. We want the Dutch oven to get as hot as possible before we place our dough into it. Open your warm Dutch oven and place your dough straight from the proofing basket, being as careful and gentle as possible. Close the lid and allow to bake for 30 minutes, and an extra 17 minutes without the lid of the Dutch oven. Repeat with second loaf.
