European Bread at home?

When I was in Europe last summer, I couldn't get enough of the bread. Their breads are amazing!!! If you're a Wonder Bread fan you're out of luck in Europe. Pack a couple of those silver bags in your suitcase, it'll stay "fresh" for the duration of your trip. If you don't see something wrong with that, I'm sorry but I can't help you, not even with this recipe. I've always been amazed at the art of bread making. It's so much more then flour, yeast, water, mix, mix, knead, knead, rise and bake. Like wine, every ingredient changes the outcome of the finished loaf. Having a starter is a simple way to improve your bread by miles. If like me, you like the chewy interior and crusty exterior, a starter will give you this. As the starter ages and continues to ferment, it'll develop more and more flavour. I've seen starters infused with fig and anise, make a satchel with cheese cloth and submerge it in your starter for a couple of days. I could go on forever but I'll stop blabbing and get to business. Traditional starters are made by mixing about flour, water and a yeasty fruit such as grapes and letting them sit at room temperature until the yeast from the grapes develops a community within the flour and water. Like a new puppy, the starter is a commitment, you have to name it, feed it, water it and stir it daily (don't name it daily but talk to it!). Making a starter for dummies involves mixing flour, water and a good quality yeast then proceed as above. Adding about half to one cup of the starter to your bread recipe will take it to a whole new level.

If you want bread with flavour and texture but not the fuss involved in keeping a starter, the following recipe works great.

Ingredients

17 1/2 ounces bread flour, plus extra for shaping

1/4 teaspoon active-dry yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

12 ounces filtered water (1.5 cups)

2 tablespoons cornmeal

Directions

Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and stir until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 19 hours.

After 19 hours, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough and turn it over onto itself a couple of times. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, shape dough into a ball. Coat hands with flour if needed to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the tea towel with half of the cornmeal and lay the dough on top of it, with the seam side down. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the other half of the cornmeal and cover with the towel. Allow to rise for another 2 to 3 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Oven baking:

While the dough is rising the second time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a pizza stone in the oven. Once the dough is ready, carefully transfer it to the preheated pizza stone and into the oven. When you put it in the oven spray the inside of the oven liberally with water. Repeat this two times in the first 4 minutes of baking without letting too much heat out of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 375 F and continue to bake for 20 minutes or until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.