Crusty Whole Wheat Bread

This bread is an incarnation of the popular recipe for 'artisan bread anytime.' And by common standards, it is quite simple. Nearly every ingredient is a multiple of two. There's no need to heat the water or proof the yeast. Even the kneading's a short term deal. Chill the dough, and when you're ready to bake, it goes straight from fridge to oven. The steps are so straightfoward, there's barely an opportunity to make a mistake. As it turns out, however, I managed to find one method of messing up the recipe, and in doing so, made a rather unfortunate oversight.

I did not read the entirety of the recipe before commencing to bake this bread. The recipe itself I received word-of-mouth a month or so ago, and by the time I got around to testing it out, a few details escaped me. So I looked about the internet to fill in the gaps, and the blog I found suggested creating steam to achieve a true tooth-tugging crust. Sounded like a pretty good idea. But I skimmed over the recipe's crucial pointer not to use a glass pan for the steaming vessel. I popped this exact sort of pan into the oven while it preheated. Once up to temperature, I poured in some lukewarm water and in return heard a prompt pop as the pan shattered.

The oven is, at least, much cleaner now And after picking up the pieces and scrubbing both floor and oven innards, I made one dense, hefty, crusty loaf of whole wheat bread. I baked it on a plain cookie sheet, no frills, and a thick crust developed without any sort of steam bath at all. So what I'd like to present you with is an honestly easy recipe. It's a one-bowl affair, kneading can go for as little or long as you like, and after an overnight visit to the fridge, whatever shape you end up with can be plopped down onto a sheet pan and baked into an hearty boule that welcomes butter, cheese, peanut butter, or any combination thereof.

Crusty Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

4 cups flour (any combination of all-purpose and whole wheat works: I used 1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. A loaf used half of each)

1 1/4 tsp. yeast

2 cups water, room temperature

2 tsp. salt

Directions: 

--Mix together flours and yeast. Add water and salt, and stir with a spoon until a dough begins to form. Knead with your hands 10 minutes (or as long as you'd like, really).

--Put dough in a clean bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight or up to 18 hours. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge while the oven preheats.

--Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Form dough into an oval or round and set on a cookie sheet. Using a serrated knife, slash several 1/2-inch grooves onto its top.

--Bake for 35 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until bread's bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool at least 5 minutes before eating.