Earthly

I went out the other day, my dough sat out for about 3+ hours, which is fine.

Found this article ... gives a very good explanation of what to do with your dough.

I made a batch Wednesday, took some out today and let it warm up in the bowl a little, then shaped ... let it rise and baked. Turned out well. Last night I just cut a piece off, spread in pizza pan and let set till warm, again it turned out well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Artisan Bread

Maryanne :
This dough is for Bread and Pizza, etc.

IT is a different dough than Challah.

You have to mix a batch using the Challah recipe.

I don't do the Artisan Bread thing because I get the same results or better,
doing it my way. It is a lot easier.

And I don't want my refrige filled with dough.

I like the fast and easy way to do things. I don't even Braid the Challah good.

But like I said before, They polished off 14 loaves one week. I quit for awhile.
I won't put my recipes in anymore but when everyone gets their Cookbooks,
You will get a lot of answers to your questions.
LOU

Maryanne, don't worry, just go for it :)

I baked up a small round loaf last night. I made the dough on Thursday and it rose way up in me container...sat on the counter for over 2 hours, but under 3. I just stuck it in the fridge.

Last night, I tossed some flour on top of the dough in the container, to make it easier to grab a clump without sticking to my hand too much. Grabbed a knife and cut off a chunk. I never set the dough down, just worked it into a ball by pushing the sides underneath to make a ball. Kept doing that a few times, didn't need any more flour or anything. I set the ball on a piece of parchment that I had already laid on my peel. I let it rise for about an hour. I turned the oven on about 20 minutes before I wanted to put the bread in the oven. I put an 9" sq pan on the bottom shelf and the baking stone above. Set oven at 450.

When I put the bread in to bake I put the 1C of hot water in the pan. I had second thoughts on how fast I did that ans was afraid that I wasn't going to have enough steam.....so I grabbed a handful of ice cubes out of the freezer and threw them in the bottom of the oven also.
The oven spring was wonderful.

Here's my bread...

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When I took the bread out of the oven (I used a digital thermometer to test for 200 degrees in the middle of the loaf) the bread really did talk to me. Made all these crackeling noises... knew then it would be good. It was!

I used to love some hard rolls that a certain restaurant made that had a thin crispy crust and a nice moist interior, this bread comes as close to those wonderful rolls as any I've ever made. I'll make some dinner rolls with it soon.

And talk about easy....................... duh!

I think someone already posted the challah recipe. It's a richer dough to begin with and because of the eggs in it, you need to use it up in 3-4 days.

Nancy

Maryanne
Here's a video that you may find helpful & very informative. I've made the Challah verison, which is wonderful. I also have the Artisan dough mixed & ready to go, & perhaps I'll be able to bake it off later.

Lucy

Here is a link that might be useful: working w/artisan dough

Nancy

Just beautiful! Hope mine comes out just as nice.

Lucy

thanks everyone for the help and links. i need all the help i can get - i don't know why breadmaking scares me, i'm trying to get over it.

nancy, i really appreciate the time you took to spell it all out for me. that's exactly what i was hoping for and you hit the nail right on the head. thank you!!!!!! and your bread just looks incredible. i'm going to make a loaf when i get off the computer.

maryanne

You are very welcome, maryanne. I've been there and had those feelings.

Maryanne: You're welcome!!!

Lou