I would love to buy them !

Those look sooooo good!!! I have been in such a rut since the Christmas holidays ended. I wish I had been at your table to have a piece of that.:)

Oooh, your Ciabata looks wonderful!

I've just found a recipe for French bread that actually comes out well. The recipe, instead of calling for a warm, draft free place for the risings, called for a cool rising, no warmer than 68 degrees. The first rise took 3 hours, the second 2 hours, and the recipe called for a third rise, which took about an hour and a half.

Kind of a pain, but my the texture of the bread was wonderful. It's the first loaf I've made (other than Challah) that I actually was willing to use to make sandwiches the second and even third day. Usually, my bread tastes wonderful the first day, but dries out and becomes crumbly too fast to use for anything but toast thereafter.

I wonder if longer, cooler rising would improve my other breads? Have I been "pushing" the rise, perhaps?

Of course, if this is the case, I can't imagine what I'll do during the months that 68 degrees is only a wistful memory.

Perfect! Ann, what would you say the total time on making this is start to finish? I'd like to try ciabatta on one of my days off.

Tracey

Rachelellen, a slow rise always makes for a better bread. You can also slow a rise down by putting the dough in the fridge to rise overnight.

Tracey, I was in a hurry today so I didn't go for a slow rise. I started around 9:30 and I think the bread was out of the oven around 2:30.

Ann

Ann, as always, it looks perfect. I love the crunchy crust and the chewy middle. I don't suppose you still have that end piece? We used to call it "the heel" and it always belonged to Dad until I grew up and baked bread, then it was all mine!

Yum, bread hot from the oven with melted butter.

Annie

Annie, you would have had to fight Moe for the heel. His favourite too.

Ann

What gorgeous bread. Would love to sink my teeth in it. LOL

Linda

Looks wonderful Ann!

Shelley S.

Perfect, as usual. Yum!

Lori :-D

Looks declicious, Ann! I've not made bread since about ten days before Christmas. My oven was broken & we've been eating light since the Holidays. I think it's about time for some bread again...

/tricia

Your bread looks scrumptious - perfect combination of holes, chewiness and crunchy crust - I can almost taste it!

Yeah, but.....Ann.....there are three loaves. Would Moe share the "heel" if I bring homemade jam? (grin)

Annie

Sure Annie,you could have had the heel off the loaf I cut into this morning. I started out with four loaves.. Moe gave two loaves away to two different neighbours. Moe ate part of one loaf when it was still warm, including the heel, and part of that loaf was used for dipping in the escargot sauce last night. And the rest of that loaf was ground up and used in the meatballs I made this morning. And we had some of the remaining loaf toasted for breakfast. Bread doesn't last long around here.

Ann

Ann that looks so good I just took some of the dough out of the refrigerator from the artisan bread in 5 min,to rest and bake for dinner.I am having so much fun with that dough,I have never baked bread befor.

Shelley

I asked this question before under the artisian pizza thread, but maybe no one is checking up on older messages. Nonetheless, my question was this: Can you preheat a Pampered Chef pizza stone and if so, what temp and for how long. I also just bought some ceramic bread pans, I have them in the oven as we speak, smells and looks good, but do you have to bake ceramic items a bit longer? lower temp? and what do you grease the pans with? Pam, oil, crisco? I should have done homework before baking...but :>) Any help would be appreciated.

oops...by the way, Ann your bread looks PERFECT !!! Will you share the recipe with us? I am a newbie here, and hope to make lots of friends and share good times.

Yes you can preheat a Pampered Chef pizza stone. I leave mine in the oven at all times. All temps, no problem. I just can't figure out how to clean it since my clean cycle says not to leave the racks in during cleaning. One of my stones is getting really dark.

Joanm, Your stone is supposed to get dark. You only clean a stone with hot water and a scraper. Never use soap, never run it thru a self cleaning cycle. The darkness indicates how well the stone is seasoned. It's like the glaze on a cast iron skillet.

Tami

Can you post your recipe please, they look great!

Here you go:

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Italian Bread
=============
This recipe is also perfect for both Focaccia and Pizza.

Sometimes I make a Biga the night before using 1 1/2 cups of the flour used in this recipe with one cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon yeast. If you don't have time to make the biga then this the recipe works just fine as follows. This is a very wet dough and needs to be mixed in a machine for a long time before you can finish kneading by hand. I use a Magic Mill Machine. If you are using something like a kitchenaide you have to watch it carefully as it climbs up the beater or hook.

8 Cups Bread flour
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 1/2 Tablespoons Salt
about 4 cups of water
2 Tablespoons olive oil. (optional)
. Mix flour yeast water and oil( Optional) (not salt) together for a
minute and leave for 20 minutes for the water to be partially absorbed.
Add salt and mix for about 30 minutes until the dough comes together
enough to be worked by hand. Continue kneading until smooth. Place in
an large oiled bowl and rub olive oil on top, cover and let rise until
more than doubled. Pour out on to surface and divide into the number of
loafs you require. Do not punch out the air. Shape into loafs, sprinkle
tops with flour and leave to rise on a flour/cornmeal dusted surface.
Heat tile/stones in oven to 500 degrees while bread is rising. Slide
loafs on to hot stone and spray with cold water, three times, three
minutes apart. Lower heat to 450° and bake for about 30 minutes. (I can
do two loafs at a time in the oven on a large stone).

focaccia

To make focaccia use some of the dough and place in a oil rubbed pan
(I use a rectangle shaped cake pan) Cover with plastic wrap and let
rise. Using you fingers indent the focaccia and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with whatever toppings you prefer. Salt, Rosemary, Sauted or
thinly sliced onions, black olives, etc....

focaccia can be baked directly on heated pizza stone as well.

I also use this recipe to make a number of large pizzas. .