Rose's Baking Basics

Basic Hearth Bread

Makes One 7½ by 4 inch high free form loaf

Oven Temperature: 475°F/250°C, then 425°F/220°C

Baking Time: 30 to 40 minutes

Baking Equipment: One cookie sheet, lined with parchment

A baking stone

A cast-iron skillet lined with aluminum foil (to prevent rusting) or a cake pan

All bakers value having a basic hearth bread recipe. This free form loaf is an excellent bread for beginning bread bakers. The small amount of whole wheat flour adds greatly to the flavor, but can be replaced with an equal weight or volume of bread flour. For still more flavor you can make the dough ahead and refrigerate it overnight. You can also bake the dough in a loaf pan for sandwich bread, and if you want to have a softer crust and crumb, add the optional oil.

Makes 830 grams dough (884 grams with oil)

water	325 grams	about 1⅓ cups (325 ml)
bread flour	454 grams	3½ cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off)
whole wheat flour	36 grams	¼ cup (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) plus ½ tablespoon
instant yeast	3.2 grams	1 teaspoon
fine sea salt	9 grams	1½ teaspoons
honey, pasteurized (see Baking Pearls)	7 grams	1 teaspoon (5 ml)
oil of your choice (optional)	54 grams	¼ cup (59 ml)

Mise en Place

▪ Thirty minutes to 1 hour ahead, weigh or measure the water and cover it.

Make the Dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if mixing by hand), whisk together the bread and whole wheat flours and yeast. Then whisk in the salt.

2. With a wooden spoon, make a well and stir in the water, honey, and the oil, if using. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

3. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed for 7 minutes, or until smooth and springy. (If kneading by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead for 10 minutes, adding as little flour as possible.) The dough should be soft and just sticky enough to cling slightly to your fingers. If it is too stiff, spray it with a little water and knead it in.

Let the Dough Rise

4. Into a 2 quart/2 liter or larger dough rising container or bowl, lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray, place the dough. Press it down and lightly coat the top of the dough with cooking spray.

5. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark on the side of the container approximately where double the height would be. Allow the dough to rise, ideally at 80º to 85ºF/27º to 29ºC, until doubled, about 1½ hours. (See Suggested Rising Environments.) If in doubt, insert a fingertip about ½ inch into the center of the dough; it should hold the indentation. If the indentation fills in, you need to allow it to rise longer. If baking it the following day, press down the dough and set it in a gallon-size reclosable freezer bag, the inside first lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Leave a little bit open for the gas that forms to escape, and refrigerate it. (You can leave the dough in the bowl if you coat the top of the dough with nonstick cooking spray and cover the bowl tightly.) Remove it to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.

Shape the Dough and Let It Rise

6. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press it down gently to flatten it into a disc. Dimple the dough with your fingertips to deflate any large air bubbles. Use only as much flour as necessary to shape it into a ball. Start by bringing up the edges of the dough. Pinch them together and turn the dough over so that the pinched ends are at the bottom. Move the dough to an unfloured area of the counter. Cup your hands around the side of the dough farthest from you, and without lifting the dough from the counter, pull it toward you. This tightens the dough. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat three to five more times to achieve a round, firm ball.

7. Set the dough on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover it with a large container or plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.

8. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until it measures 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches high, and the indentation fills in very slowly when pressed gently with a fingertip.

Preheat the Oven

▪ Forty-five minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and set the baking stone on it. Place the cast-iron skillet on the floor of the oven. Set the oven at 475ºF/250ºC.

Slash and Bake the Bread

9. With a sharp knife or straight edged razor blade, make ½ inch deep slashes in the top of the dough.

10. Spritz the bread with water. Quickly but gently set the cookie sheet on the hot stone and toss about ½ cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath. Immediately shut the door.

11. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425ºF/220ºC and continue baking for 10 minutes. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway around. Tent the bread loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. A wooden skewer inserted into the center will come out clean, and an instant-read thermometer should read 195º to 205ºF/90º to 96ºC. For an extra crisp crust, transfer it directly to the stone, turn off the oven, and leave it in the oven for an extra 5 to 10 minutes with the door ajar.

Cool the Bread

12. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely, top side up.

Store in a paper bag: room temperature, 2 days;

airtight: frozen, 2 months.

Baking Pearls

Be sure to use whole wheat flour that has been stored for no longer than 3 months at room temperature; if it has been stored in the freezer, longer is fine. Older whole wheat flour will taste bitter due to the oil in the germ, which becomes rancid on longer storage.

Unpasteurized natural honey has antibacterial enzymes that will kill the yeast. Most grocery store brands are pasteurized; natural honey from your farmers’ market or health food store most likely isn’t.

If you would like to add Biga (Dough Enhancer) for extra flavor and a firmer texture, see directions here.

Alternatively, in place of the biga, a ready addition is to moisten some leftover bread with water to the consistency of a soft dough. Add the water by the teaspoonful and knead it into the bread with your fingers. Use the same weight or volume as the biga, but do not increase the salt.

Make This Recipe Your Own

For a standard loaf, use a 9 by 5 by 3 inch (7 cup) bread pan, coated with nonstick cooking spray. The shaped dough before rising will be ½ inch from the top of the pan. When it’s ready to bake, the dough should be 1 inch above the sides of the pan at the highest center point. Make one long ½ inch deep slash lengthwise down the top.

Making Basic Hearth Bread