Oh, lovely, lovely spoon bread. I like it plain, the wife and daughters prefer theirs with honey...I don't think you can go wrong either way. And is it ever easy to make. Start by bringing your milk to the boil. Turn off the heat and begin to pour the cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while.

Allow the mixture to cool completely, an hour or two, or overnight in the refrigerator. It will firm up quite a bit, but that's nothing to be alarmed about.

When ready to make the spoon bread, preheat your oven to 375, then combine the corn meal and milk mixture with all the other ingredients in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat the mixture for 15 minutes on medium speed to aerate it. You can do this by hand if you'd like, the finished product will be almost as good.

Pour the batter into a buttered form, either a flat casserole, cake layer pan or a soufflé dish like this. Be aware that the form you choose will affect your baking time. A deep form like a soufflé will take about 50 minutes, while a shallow pan will take less, about 30.

In the last few minutes of baking, the spoon bread will rise impressively, then fall with alacrity once it's removed from the oven. Don't be alarmed, this "bread" simply has no structure. It will be delicious all the same.

Serve immediately, piping hot, directly from the dish at the table.

It's debatable where spoon bread first originated, though it is known where the world's best spoon bread is served: right here in Kentucky at the Boone Tavern in Berea. This spoon bread has been drawing crowds to the Boone Tavern for over 60 years.

3 cups whole milk

1 1/4 cups (5 1/2 ounces) cornmeal
 (white corn meal if you can find it)
3 eggs
at room temperature, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 375. In a medium sauce pan, bring the milk to the boil. Then, while stirring, add the corn meal in a steady stream (if you've ever made polenta, you'll recognize this process). Take the pan off the heat and set it aside, allowing the mixture to cool to room temperature. It will be very cold and firm at that point. Be not dismayed. Put the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer, add the beaten eggs, melted butter, salt and baking powder. Beat at medium speed for 15 minutes. Pour into a buttered casserole or 9" cake round, and bake for 30 minutes. Serve at the table, straight from the pan.

This can be done by hand as well. In that case, add pieces of the cooked corn meal cake to the eggs steadily until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and beat the well for about ten minutes.

Now that's what I call a big ol' pile of fresh-baked goodness. For a summertime mezze (Middle Eastern appetizer) party, homemade pitas can't be beat. Sheesh! There I go getting all Martha Stewart on you again. Plain old chicken salad sandwiches work great on them, too.

One of the really nifty things about pitas is that you don't need a good oven — or even an oven at all — to make them. They work in everything from a brick oven to a cast iron skillet. Which means there's really no excuse not to try them. Start by combining your ingredients, save for the water, in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle.

Stir the ingredients on low, then add the water, stirring about 30 seconds more until the ingredients are moistened and the dough comes together.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is elastic and a somewhat sticky. Can you do all this by hand? Of course, yes.

Turn the dough out into an oiled bowl and let rise for an hour, or put it in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, overnight. If you decide on the latter (and I recommend it), it's a good idea to de-gas the dough by pressing down on it with your palm once or twice in the first 4-6 hours of chilling.

The next day, remove the dough from the fridge (here it's got my big ol' hand print on it), and remove to a floured board.

Cut the dough into nine 3-ounce pieces...

...and roll them into balls.

Let the dough balls rest for 20-30 minutes, then apply your pin and roll.

You want a rough circle about seven inches across. Once rolled, let the dough circles rest about 10 - 15 minutes.

All you need to do now is apply them to a hot baking surface. That can be a baking stone in a 550 oven, a cast iron skillet that's been pre-heated over a medium-low flame, or— ehem — a big brick oven. Guess which one I'm using? Simply place the dough circle on your device...

...and after a minute or two — depending on the heat — it'll puff up into a little pillow. Once it's puffed, you can turn it. I recommend it for brick oven bakers (since brick ovens are so hot...use the longest tongs you own) as well as for skillet bakers. Home oven bakers can simply let them bake without turning to the desired degree of doneness.

If you plan to split the pitas to make pocket sandwiches, I suggest a very light bake, until there's just a hint of brown on the bottom. Otherwise, bake them to whatever degree you wish. Obviously I like mine a little more well done. The brick oven chars them if I'm not careful, though soot-dusted pitas are their own rustic pleasure. You really can't go wrong.

If Neolithic man could make flat bread, odds are just about all of us can too. If you're convinced you're one of those people who's simply not capable of making palatable bread, your self-image is about to change. The formula is:

16 ounces unbleached all-purpose (AP) flour (substitute whole wheat four for up to half if desired)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) olive or vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups (10.5 ounces) lukewarm water

Combine all the ingredients except the water in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and stir on low to combine. Add the water and continue stirring until all the ingredients are moist, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and knead 5-7 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise in an oiled bowl for an hour, or for the best flavor, immediately refrigerate the dough overnight.

When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up for about half an hour. Remove the higher racks in your oven and place a baking stone on the lowest one. Preheat it to 550. Turn the dough out of the bowl and divide it into nine 3-ounce pieces. Roll each into a ball according to the bun shaping instructions under the How to Shape Buns and Rolls tutorial over to the right. Let them rest for 20- 30 minutes. Roll out to circles about 7 inches across. Let rest about 10 minutes.

When ready, simply pick up a pita and drop it onto the baking stone. Bake it for 2-3 minutes, until it puffs up, then gently, with tongs, turn it over. Bake another two minutes or so, until the breads achieve the desired color (the lighter the pitas, the more tender and flexible they'll be...I like mine a little darker for flavor). Cool and eat.

Like all truly great things to eat, this is extremely simple. Start by preheating your oven to 450, and measuring out your (room temperature) ingredients. Add a tablespoon or so of bacon drippings or lard or butter to a 10-inch cast iron skillet:

Put the pan in the oven to heat while you make up your batter (you only want it there for a couple of minutes, so the fat doesn't burn). Whisk together the dry ingredients:

Next, whisk together the wet ingredients:

Combine the two...

...and whisk until incorporated.

Lastly, whisk in the cracklings.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter. It will sizzle a bit. Turn down the heat to 350 and bake for 25 minutes until golden. Flip the bread out of the pan so the crispy side is up. Slice into wedges and serve.

What's a great use for cracklings? Brothers and sisters, here's one of the best: cracklin' corn bread. Talk about a definitively southern bread, this one has it all: lard, corn, buttermilk. Pleasantly coarse and rustic, you'd have found southerners eating something almost exactly like this 150 years ago. To give it that extra country flare, make it in a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet.

9 ounces (2 cups) yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup cracklings
1 tablespoon lard, butter or bacon drippings

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Once the oven is hot, put the tablespoon of fat into the skillet and put the skillet in the oven to heat. Meanwhile, mix up your batter. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in another bowl, then combine the wet and dry ingredients, whisking just until combined. Lastly, whisk in the cracklings. Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter, it will sizzle appealingly. Turn the heat down to 350 and return the pan to the oven. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. When baked, flip the bread out of the pan so the crispy crust faces up. Slice into wedges and serve, with a drizzle of honey if desired.

There's almost no limit to what can go on focaccia, but like pizza, the sparer you are with your toppings, the better the result. Salt, herbs and oil is the classic combo, and the herbs can be whatever you like: rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, chives, sage, tarragon, chervil...either by themselves or in combination. Roasted garlic is another tried-and-true (just make sure you roast the cloves ahead of time and push them well down into the dough). Raisins, believe it or not, are common as a focaccia topping in the old country (where both sweet and savory focaccia abound), and are often accompanied by a light dusting of cinnamon. Other sweet variations include dates, (possibly with nuts, possibly with honey instead of oil) and candied orange peels. A few black olives can be very nice, throw on a couple of anchovies and some herbs to go full-on Provence. And let's not forget cheese. A light dusting of good parmesan is delightful, especially with some thin-sliced or roasted garlic, but then lots of cheeses work well with focaccia (mozzarella, provolone, goat cheese, feta...just make sure to add them later in the baking...about halfway through, so they don't burn). Where vegetables are concerned you can do chopped onion, chopped or sliced tomato, roasted red pepper slices, chopped mushrooms, sliced shallots, thin-sliced zucchini or yellow squash, spinach...just don't pile on too many, or the result will be sodden bread. Pine nuts and walnuts work wonderfully, purées of all types (tapenade, pesto, roasted garlic), even meats like shredded chicken, sausage or pepperoni.

That's a lot of stuff — and it's by no means an exhaustive list (write in with more if you like, friends). Just for goodness sake don't overload your dough. Think of your toppings more like garnishes and you'll do fine. Mangia, mangia!

THAT WAS FAST: Lauren A. suggests using flavored oils. Sounds good.

Fluffy, salty and redolent of aromatic olive oil and fresh rosemary, these little hunks of bread are great as casual appetizers, simple snacks, or as substitutes for dinner rolls (man, I should be writing ad copy). Begin by combining your ingredients in the bowl of a mixer.

Add about 5-6 ounces of the water, and mix on low for a minute, then medium, adding as much water as is necessary to get to the right consistency — which is this, sort of like melted fresh mozzarella...smooth, tacky and elastic:

Scoop it out into a bowl or a dough rising container and let it rise...

...until it's twice its original volume. It'll take about 4 hours.

Apply a liberal amount of olive oil to a half-size sheet pan...

...and spread it all around (don't forget the lip of the pan).

Turn out your dough and let it rest for 10 minutes, then begin to gently stretch it out over the surface of the pan.

It will want to snap back, but just let it rest a few minutes after the initial stretch and try again. Repeat the stretching and resting until it's almost spread out over the whole pan. About like so:

Allow it to proof another hour, until it's puffy and has expanded to cover almost all of the pan (for the most developed flavor put the pan inside a clean trash bag and chill overnight in the fridge...then proof for about two hours). When ready to bake, make deep depressions in the dough with your fingers (i.e. push through to the pan) and pop any large bubbles.

Add a sprinkling of your favorite fancy salt (like fleur de sel) and herbs of your choice. Rosemary is the classic.

Drizzle on some more olive oil...

...and bake at 550 for five minutes. Rotate the pan in the oven, drop the heat to 425 and continue baking for another 25 minutes or so, until it looks like this:

Cool on a wire rack, slice and eat!

There are several possible ways to go with focaccia, depending on the texture you like. Here's my base recipe, and I'll do my best to show you how to vary it.

16 ounces bread or high-gluten flour (substitute durum flour for up to half of it)
16 ounces poolish or starter preferment (directions for both to the right, you'll need to double the poolish recipe and/or grow the starter as needed)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 ounces olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
5-8 ounces lukewarm water (proportion may vary depending on your preferment)
toppings of your choice

Combine all the ingredients with 5-6 ounces of the water in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook (not the toppings though, obviously). Mix on low for one minute to moisten all your ingredients, then turn the machine up to medium and knead for a full 15 minutes. You want your finished dough to be smooth and silky but still quite wet, so as the mixer is running add more water if it seems too stiff. It should clear the sides of the mixer bowl, but still stick to the bottom...all in all a consistency not unlike melted mozzarella cheese.

Apply cooking spray or olive oil to a bowl or dough rising container and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Let rise until doubled, about four hours. Turn the dough out onto a well-oiled 18" x 13" sheet pan and let it rest for 10 minutes. After the time is up, with oiled fingers, spread/stretch the dough gently outward. If it springs back too much (and it will) allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before stretching it more. Repeat the stretching and resting one or two more times, until the dough is most of the way to the edges of the sheet pan. Let proof one more hour, or until the dough starts to get puffy again and spreads out nearly to the corners of the sheet pan (alternately, for still better flavor, put the sheet pan in a clean trash bag and let rest overnight in the fridge...remove 2 hours before baking to allow it to warm up and proof).

Preheat your oven to 500 or 550 (whatever your oven will put out). With your fingers, dimple the dough all over so as to prevent the top crust from rising off the bread in one big bubble as it bakes. Apply a drizzle of olive oil, some fancy salt, herbs, or whatever toppings you wish. Bake for five minutes. Drop the heat to 425. Open the oven door, rotate the pan, and bake about another 20-25 or until golden. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

As I mentioned earlier, a great baguette, at least for the home baker, is a journey and not a destination. Still, I'll have my journey slathered with plenty of raspberry jam, thank you very much. Am I still finding my way toward my perfect baguette? Most certainly, but the following method yields a baguette that it very, very good.

Begin by combining your poolish (or starter) and flour and instant yeast in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle. (You can whisk the dry ingredients together first if you wish).

Turn the mixer on and stir the ingredients, then add the water and continue to stir until all the ingredients are moistened. Let this mixture sit for 20 minutes.

Next, add your old dough pieces and salt to the heap. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5-7 minutes.

Your dough should be firm and smooth, yet still a little tacky to the touch.

Put the dough into a rising container and let sit for 2-4 hours, until doubled in bulk.

Weigh out your pieces (oops, too heavy...it's SEVEN ounces you dolt!). Don't forget to reserve five ounces for the freezer. What, you'll want to do this again soon, right?

Now then for the shaping. Pat your dough piece down into and oval shape...

...then gently roll it with both hands into a small football. Let sit for ten minutes.

When the relaxing is finished, and using the edge of your hand, gently make a trench down the middle of the dough.

Fold the bottom half up...

...and the top half down. This creates surface tension on the outside of the dough, and yields a prettier and more even baguette.

Then using your thumb, pinch the seam closed. Let the dough sit for ten minutes more.

After the relaxing is done, roll the dough out with both hands to a length of about 8 inches. Again, let it sit for ten minutes.

Finish rolling the dough out to a length of 12-14 inches, depending on how skinny you like your "sticks".

I like mine a bit on the skinnier side. Put the baguettes in a baguette pan — yes I use them, there's no shame in it, though if you aren't retarding the baguettes in the fridge, you won't necessarily need to. Spritz with water and either let proof another 30-45 minutes and bake, or refrigerate overnight, then proof about 1 1/2 hours (and bake).

When ready to bake, slash the loaves and give them a final spritz with water. Bake according to directions posted under How to Make Your Home Oven More Brick Oven-Like. Remember to slash down the loaf and not across.

Bake for about 20 minutes, then open the oven to inspect the progress. Rotate the pan and bake another 5-10 until the baguettes are well browned. Makes three 7-ounce baguettes.

Yes, I know what I’ve been saying about baguettes, that they’re the ultimate “fast” bread, that bakeries whip them out in as little as four hours. The thing is, that’s only true if you’ve got your preferments on-hand and ready to go (like full-time bakeries do). Home bakers need to mix up their preferments a day ahead, let them mature overnight, then mix, raise and shape their dough the next day. I also suggest another overnight rest for your baguettes to develop even more flavor, though that’s not strictly necessary.

So really, if you had the preferments on-hand (some old dough in the freezer, plus, say, some well-fed sourdough starter that you could refresh early in the morning on the day of the bake), you could theoretically do these in an afternoon. More time makes better bread, however. Up to you.

This recipe is designed to yield three small, 7-ounce baguettes, plus give you 5 ounces of leftover “old” dough that you can stash in the freezer and use the next time. What follows is my recommendation for what I think is the best possible baguette, but by all means do your own interpretation. Here’s the formula:

9 ounces bread flour

Scant ¼ teaspoon (0.6 grams) instant yeast

4.5 ounces lukewarm water

Either 7.5 ounces refreshed and bubbly sourdough starter (instructions to the right) or 7.5 ounces poolish preferment (instructions also to the right).

5 ounces old dough (pâte fermentée)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

And here are the procedures:

Day 1

Make up your old dough and your poolish, OR refresh your starter.

Day 2

Put the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and mix 15 seconds to combine. Add the water and poolish (or starter) and mix for 30 seconds to moisten all the ingredients. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Then, rip up your old dough into several pieces and add them to the bowl with the salt. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not too sticky. Add a little extra flour if necessary.

Put the dough into an oiled dough rising container and let rise until doubled, anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on whether you’ve used the poolish or the sourdough starter. Cut the dough into 7-ounces pieces, reserving the leftover 5-ounce piece for your next batch. Shape the larger pieces into small torpedoes, and let them rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. With the edge of your hand, using a gentle karate-chop motion, make a trench down the middle of each oblong loaf. Fold the lower half up, and the top half down, so as to create surface tension on the outside skin of the dough. Pinch the dough closed along the seam, then gently roll the dough out to a length of about 8 inches. Let rest 10 minutes, again to relax the dough, then roll the baguettes out to a full 12-14 inches. Lay the loaves out on a baguette pan and spritz lightly with water.

Now then, here’s the point of decision. You can either preheat your oven to 500 and let the baguettes proof for 30 - 45 minutes and then bake them, or you can park them in the fridge (retard them) for better flavor. If you plan to retard them, do it for a minimum of 5 hours, preferably overnight.

Day 3

Preheat your oven to 500. Remove the baguettes from the fridge, spritz them with water again and let them proof for about 1 ½ hours, until a bit puffier than they were when they came out (they will have risen some in the fridge). Slash them with a sharp knife to allow for expansion, spritz once more with water, and bake according to the directions in the post How to Make Your Home Oven More Like a Brick Oven for 20 minutes. Open the oven, rotate the pan, and bake another 5-10 minutes until they’re well browned.

Set on a rack and allow them to cool completely before going and getting out the really good butter.

This makes enough for my baguette recipe, but of course it can be increased if need be for some other application. The amount of yeast employed in a poolish is tiny relative to the flour and water. So tiny, in fact, that for a poolish sponge this small, we'll need to dissolve some instant yeast in water, then administer the solution in spoonfuls. Start by combining:

2 ounces water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

...in a small bowl.

Stir until the yeast is completely dissolved:

Fetch a slightly larger bowl, and put in it:

4 ounces all-purpose flour

plus

2 teaspoons of the yeast solution

Pour in:

4 ounces of water:

And stir with a fork until it's all combined into a batter.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for 12-16 hours until it looks about like so:

Nice and bubbly, yes? That's what you want. And there you have it: one poolish. This will keep well in the fridge for two days.

Pâte fermenté isn't the be-all and end-all of sponges, you know. The poolish occupies its own special place in the preferment firmament, right next to the Italian biga (but we'll talk more about that some other time).

You'll recall in my opening remarks about baguettes that, in addition to various technologies like the deck oven, the pre-industrial French lacked the techniques required to produce fast-rising breads. One of the most important of these techniques was invented by the Poles, themselves no slouches at baking, and who were in fact — at least in matters of bread — at least equal to the Viennese. For they discovered that by adding a small amount of brewer's yeast to a slurry of flour and water, a very flavorful — yet still relatively fast-rising — goop was created, one that could be added to fluffy fine breads to increase their complexity.

What kind of sponge is this? French bakers asked their Viennese teachers (who'd been employing the Polish preferment for decades by the mid-1800's).

Polnisch.

What kind?

Polnisch.

Poolish?

Ja, right, poolish...whatever.

And that's how it's been referred to in France (and pretty much everywhere else) ever since.

It's really just bread dough, only you don't bake it. Of course, if you make bread regularly enough you can just make a little extra dough and hold it in reserve for the next batch. Pâte fermentée will keep for 3 days in the fridge and about 3 months in the freezer. A basic formula is:

10 ounces bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
6 ounces (or slightly more) water

Combine your dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attached.

Turn the mixer on low and stir for a few seconds, the add the water and stir for about 30 seconds until all the ingredients are moistened.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for five minutes. You want a firm and slightly tacky dough.

Put the dough into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.

Let it ferment at room temperature for an hour, until it's increased in size noticeably.

The put it into the fridge overnight. The next day — presto chango — you'll have made pâte fermentée. Use it right away, within 3 days, or freeze.

Pâte fermentée is what we in the English-speaking world call "old dough", even though it means something closer to "fermented" or "ripened" dough in French. Classically, the old dough technique is very simple. Every time a baker makes a batch of baguettes (or some other bread that might be improved by old dough) he or she simple reserves a piece of the unbaked dough and stashes it away for use the next day.

Over the course of the night some very interesting things happen. Yeasts continue to reproduce, creating alcohols (and as those of you who've read other posts of mine on flavor know, some flavor compounds are only "unlocked" by — i.e. will only dissolve in — alcohol). Bacteria grow and create flavorful acids. And enzymes proceed to run amok slicing and dicing long-chain carbohydrate molecules (starches) down into sugars.

All of this is a great boon to a baguette dough (or any other bread dough it's added to), both in terms of flavor and color.

I'm a perfectionist about a lot of things, but pain à l'ancienne isn't one of them. I take the term "rustic" seriously here, so the more oddly-shaped, bulbous and goofy these things turn out, the better. I don't even care if my dough portions are the same weight...is that gettin' nutty or what?

This bread is basically a messed-with ciabatta. If it proofed longer, it would be that very thing. However I think it's a pretty terrific (and terrifically easy) thing as it is. Outside of the no-knead breads that are so popular right now, this bread probably provides the best effort-to-return ratio of any bread I've ever tried. And while it isn't quite as easy as a no-knead, it delivers a whole lot more flavor and a better crust. Even baking without a professional oven, you get an open crumb like this:

Need I say more? Let's get started. Begin by getting that ice water ready.

Is it cold? I mean is it really cold? Then put your dry ingredients into the bowl of your mixer.

Add your water (straining out the ice of course) and mix on low for about a minute, until everything's nice and wet, like this.

Put on the dough hook, turn the mixer up to medium and knead for no more than five minutes. By then though dough should pull away from the sides but still stick to the bottom of the bowl, like this:

Scoop the dough out into a rising container or a large bowl. Use your hand, it's the best way. Just shape your fingers like a shovel and scoop. Don't be shy — get in there!

You'll have a little more than a quart of dough. Now then, promptly, and I mean don't even take time out to wash your hands, stash the container in the coldest part of the fridge: bottom shelf in the back. Shut the door.

Thus endeth day one. The next day, take the dough out of the fridge. It will probably have risen at least a little.

Let it rise for about three hours (preheating your oven to 500 after two of those hours), until it's twice its former volume and nice and bubbly, about like so:

Amply flour a wooden board. Amply.

Turn out the dough and sprinkle it with more flour.

Shape the dough into a rough rectangle, then with a bench scraper, cut the dough in half. Then cut each of those halves into three pieces.

Lay the pieces out, stretching them slightly, onto pieces of parchment that are sitting on the back sides of sheet pans or cookie sheets. These will serve as your peels for laying the bread in the oven.

When ready to bake, slide the loaves into the oven, paper and all. Do this by planting the far edge of the pan at the far edge of the baking stone, then just slip the pan out from under. It'll be hot, but don't worry, you can do it.

Do the steaming thing as in the post How to Make Your Home Oven More Brick Oven-Like, then bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the loaves (which is easy because they're sitting on paper...you can just grab the curled up corner of the parchment with your fingers), then bake about 15 minutes more. You loaves will look something like this:

Nice and golden and crispy, with that nice "this is artisan bread" dusting of flour on the top. Take the loaves out with tongs, throw away the parchment and bake the other three loaves, which won't have suffered any from their extended proofing. Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes, then go get the butter.

But how about that for easy, eh? Minimal kneading, idiot-proof rising and no shaping to speak of. For the result you get, this is a truly amazing bread. All courtesy of Mr. Reinhart. Thank you, Peter!

Perhaps a couple of you wondered that looking at yesterday's oven photos. In fact it was my version of Peter Reinhart's pain à l'ancienne. There's a lot of interest in this bread in the baking community. Or should I say there has been, ever since he first published the recipe eight years ago in his wonderful book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. In fact several of you have asked that I make it for the blog. I haven't since a) I don't like publishing other people's recipes and b) several bloggers have already done this — with photos. However since Mr. Reinhart has just published an entire book based on this excellent technique (Peter Reinhardt's Whole Grain Breads, which I own and highly recommend), several bloggers have put up the recipe already, and it just so it happens to be a good illustration of what I'm talking about this week...I'm gonna do it. My version of the formula goes like so:

1 lb., 11 ounces bread or high-gluten flour
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 lb., 5 ounces ice water

My version of the procedures go like this:

Day 1

Make sure your water is very, cold. Which is to say combine it with plenty of ice and stir it well. Next, combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, until all the ingredients are moist and a loose dough begins to form. Switch to the dough hook and knead for five minutes on medium, until the dough becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (but not the bottom). Promptly scoop the dough out (it will be very wet and sticky) and put it in an oiled dough rising container. Put the container on the bottom shelf in the back of your fridge, overnight.

Day 2

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it rise until doubled (it may have already risen some in the chill chest, that's OK). The full rising takes almost exactly three hours in my universe, you'll want to set up your oven and start it pre-heating to 500 degrees Fahrenheit after about two. When the dough has fully risen, turn it out onto a very well-floured board. Without working it too much, pat it into a rough rectangle and cut it in half with a bench scraper. Cut each half into three strips, then lay them out, three at a time, on pieces of parchment paper set on the back of sheet pans or cookie sheets.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Score it if you can (or want to), since with a dough this wet, it isn't easy...or really necessary. When you're ready, slide the first batch of three loaves, paper and all, onto your baking stone. Steam the oven as directed the post How to Make Your Home Oven More Brick Oven-Like. Bake for 10 minutes, until the loaves begin to take on color, then rotate and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Repeat the process with the next pan of three loaves. Cool on a wire rack.

It's funny how many people seem to think their ovens are too cheap/old/junky to be improved by things like pizza stones and pans of water. The fact is, the junkier your oven is, the greater the difference these tricks will make.

The first thing you want to do to make your oven more hearth-like is to introduce some large, heat-absorbing masses to it. These will increase both the conductive and the radiant heat in your oven. The most common of these is of course a pizza stone. The best of these are the heaviest, since they can hold more heat. You want to place your stone directly on the floor of your oven for maximum effect.

What else can you add that might be even more help? How abut another pizza stone? Why not? Only this one sits on a rack over whatever it is you're baking, so that it radiates heat downward, much like an actual brick oven. Do I do this? Well, no, but I know bakers who employ this technique and swear by it. I've been meaning to borrow and extra stone from a foodie neighbor to try it. You might want to do the same thing!

Can you use actual bricks on the floor of the oven? Some people do that, yes. Just be sure they are unglazed "fire" bricks, the kind brick layers build fireplaces with. Why be so specific? Because you don't want them to crack, nor do you want to disperse nasty chemicals around the inside of your oven and/or kitchen. The same goes for clay building tiles, which some bakers also use. These you can find at building supply places, usually for cheaper than you can acquire a stone (they also look cooler, for you oven interior aesthetes). Just be sure you're buying plain clay. Nothing colored, nothing shiny. Got me?

Here's what the inside of my oven looks like:

Kinda grubby, not very glamorous. I've got a large, heavy pizza stone down on the floor, and you can see that completely trashed sheet pan up top, scooted as far forward as it can go. What's that for? I'm glad you asked: water. For moisture is another important feature of a hearth. Extra moisture translates to a better crust, for reasons you probably already know. Other important accountrement for moisture dispersal include this, a) silly cup:

and b) this spray bottle set on "stream".

These help me introduce water into the oven environment. The lightness and length of that cup are actually important, since those features allow me to grasp it with my fingertips at its very bottom. What difference does that make? Allow me to demonstrate.

Once the oven is fully preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, all the surfaces, including the pan and the stone, are darn hot. When my loaves are ready, I pour about 8 ounces of hot water into my plastic cup. I open the door, promptly lay my bread down on the pizza stone, and sneak the water into my stained and buckled pan (it got that way from being treated like this, as you've probably guessed). The length of the cup allows me to do that gingerly without getting scalded by steam. Which hurts.

I pour in the water to a loud and violent hiss. I then give the sides and door of the oven several spritzes with water...

...then shut the thing up. Two minutes later, I repeat the spritzing:

...then close the door. Two minutes after that, I do it again:

Yes, it's the same photo. Sue me. I'm trying to visually reinforce a point. Once all the spraying is done, I stop fiddling and simply let the oven do its work. This method would work just fine with an extra stone, in case you were wondering. Also, for those of you who might be wondering why I don't just leave a pan or skillet full of water in the oven (as some books suggest), the reason is because moisture only helps your bread up to a certain point (which is to say, the first few minutes of baking). After that it will actually soften your crust. A simple sheet pan with lots of surface area, that can evaporate about a cup of water in 5-7 minutes, is exactly what you need (and yes, be prepared to sacrifice a decent pan for the cause).

That's it as far as I'm concerned. Questions?

I love this bread. Such a nice, glossy, slightly golden interior and spongy texture. Great for dipping in olive oil, and let's not get started about sandwiches.

Did I say get started? Then let's. Your refrigerated starter should be bubbly, about like so (fancy crockery bowl not required):

Put it into the bowl of your mixer (it'll deflate totally):

Then add your dry ingredients on top (note I'm making eight loaves' worth here, so your quantities will be different, though the overall look and feel of the dough will be the same).

Mix with the paddle for two minutes to moisten, then apply the dough hook for five minutes. The finished product should look like this:

Wet and stretchy, no? That's a good thing. Transfer to a bowl and let sit for half an hour. Then give it a stretch or two to spread the yeast around.

Wait another half hour and give it another stretch.

Then another half hour and one more stretch.

Is it sticky, messy work?

It is.

So then, once the stretching is all done, let the dough rise for almost two hours, until it triples in volume and looks like this (this is half my dough, the rest is in another bowl that looks just like this...it didn't seem to warrant another photo):

Turn the dough out onto a VERY well-floured board (durum, if you're using it). Then cut it into 13-ounces pieces with a bench scraper or knife.

Now then, fetching the closest available small basket, bowl or colander, line it with a towel or napkin and sprinkle with more flour (durum, preferably)

Place your lump of dough in it, bringing the cut sides up to the top of the ball and pinching them closed. This is all the shaping you'll need to do for this very slack dough.

Sprinkle with more flour, fold the corners of the cloth over to cover and let sit for 1 1/4 hours or so until the loaves are very poofy.

With your oven up to blazing temperature, dust your peel with flour.

Turn your dough out onto it...

...and slash the tops as best you can with a razor blade or sharp knife. Dough this wet doesn't slash too well, but if you can manage it, the loaves will come out prettier.

Insert into your oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I know, you probably don't have one of these. However when I get back next week I'll show you how to prepare your own oven to be more like a big, brick hearth. Until then, have a Merry Christmas all you baking fanatics!

Did I mention you'll need some durum flour? You will, and it can be hard to find. You can of course order it online, or just use all white flour instead. The loaf you'll get will have as much right to be called "Pugliese" as mine — 'cause neither one of them will be made in Apulia! Anyway, my recipe is a variation on one I found in Rose Levy Berenbaum's Bread Bible. The main difference is that where hers calls for a commercial yeast-based biga starter, mine calls for a "sour" starter — the kind I put up instructions for on the menu over there to the right. It gives you a lot more flavor (and a reason to keep re-using that starter). Anyway, here it is. For two 13-ounce loaves:

5 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour
5 ounces durum flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 ounces water
10 ounces refrigerated starter

The treatment of the starter is an important part of the process. It can't be ancient, flat, firm stater that hasn't seen the light of day for weeks. It must be light and bubbly — not that it's going to leaven the bread much. The idea is to build it up in the day or so leading up to baking. I "wake" mine two days before with a feeding and 4-hour fermentation at room temperature. I then put it in the refrigerator overnight and do the same thing the following day, building it up to the quantity I need (and then some). Then I refrigerate it again for use the next day. I quadruple this recipe because, well, my oven holds a lot of bread.

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix with the paddle for two minutes to combine your ingredients. Switch to the dough hook and knead for five more minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (if it doesn't, add more flour a couple of tablespoons at a time until it does).

Turn the dough out into an oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rise for half an hour, then stretch and/or fold it once or twice. Let it rise another half hour and repeat the stretching. Then let it rise another half hour and stretch it again. Let the dough rise for 1 and 3/4 hours after that, until it's almost tripled in size (this is a very airy dough).

Turn out the dough, and divide it into two equal pieces. Pull each piece into a rough ball shape and place it in a basket (or bowl or colander) lined with a flour-dusted napkin or towel. Let rise for about 1 1/4 hours until it's puffy. Turn the dough pieces, one at a time, out onto a floured peel and transfer them to a baking stone in 550 degree (or as hot as you can make it) oven. Bake about 20 minutes until dark golden brown.