Every Cutting Board Deserves Fresh Bread

There's nothing as satisfying as freshly baked bread, complete with butter dripping off the sides onto the plate (if you even bothered with a plate). The day Wonder Bread came on the market was the day our expectations of bread died a slow, spongy death. Not to say that cheap, mass-produced bread doesn't have it's place...but that place does not exist in my kitchen. I am a bread snob, and proud of it. I would buy bread at the store, but every time I consider it, I look at the cold, sad contents of the package and sigh, saying for the millionth time, "whatever, I'll just make it myself."

This weekend's bread was based on my everyday bread recipe, with salty rosemary water brushed over the top prior to being baked. *wipes away some drool* I've baked this basic recipe and variations on it so many times, it's pretty much ingrained into my memory for all eternity. Many thanks to Nancy Raney and Nika Bareket for contributing the main building blocks of this recipe.

Christy's Bread

1 cup lukewarm water

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

3 tablespoons sugar or honey

Mix the water, yeast and sugar together in a big bowl and leave to sit for about ten minutes, or until foamy.

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons melted butter or oil (optional, totally not necessary but can be nice depending on the type of bread you're making)

3 cups bread flour (or up to 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour plus the rest bread flour)

Before you add the dry stuff is a great time to add any additional ingredients you might like, such as spices, herbs, seeds, etc.

Mix the salt, flour and oil (if you're using it) into the water and yeast mixture. I generally sift my flour in, to make a more evenly textured bread. Mix roughly, not bothering to make a uniform mixture, and turn out on a clean counter top or large cutting board. Knead for about ten minutes or so, adding flour as necessary until it's no longer sticky and forms a smooth, lovely ball of bread dough.

Put in a greased bowl (I usually use the same bowl I mixed the dough in, it saves on dishes) and turn to coat the dough in oil. Cover with a clean cloth and put in a warm place to rise, for about an hour or until it doubles in bulk. Punch it down and allow to rise again until doubled in size, at which point you'll knead it briefly to make a uniform mixture without any giant bubbles or oily spots. Form it however you'd like to see it baked, put it on/in it's greased baking pan, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk again. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375 or until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. I know this last instruction sounds convoluted and confusing, but trust me on this. It will sound hollow when it's done, and dense and non-hollow when it's still doughy in the middle.