Artisan Bread

Nothing in this world smells better than bread baking. It’ll wake up a dead man, I swear!

I’ve made a lot of bread, biscuits, cornbread (kinda like Bubba Gump and his shrimp) but when I found this recipe, I hit the jackpot. Low maintenance, freshly baked bread that you could make every day. It is equally good for pasta with some good butter and fresh garlic on it or made into a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Most yeast breads have to be treated kinda rough. You have to punch it and knead it and shape it. This Artisan Bread takes a gentler hand. You actually want to touch this as little as possible.

Now, I don’t profess to be a food scientist, so I can’t tell you exactly why this bread works so well. I’m sure it’s that long slow rising time mainly and baking it in a dutch oven. All I know is that the end result is delicious and worth the wait.

It’s easy to add seeds, nuts, etc., to this dough. Just add as you are shaping the dough into a ball before baking.

Put some of this together before your mama-in-law comes over next time. I guarantee she will ask you for the recipe.

[recipe title=”Artisan Bread” servings=”8″ time=”15 hours” difficulty=”easy”]

Artisan-bread2

Ingredients

  • 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon dry yeast

Equipment needed

  • 6-quart Dutch oven

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add water and using a wooden spoon, stir together until mixture is shaggy and combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and sit in a warm room for 12-18 hours. Dough will bubble and rise up.

When the dough is ready, preheat oven to 450°. Turn the dough out onto a flat, well-floured surface and with well-floured hands, scoop it together to form into a ball. Do not overwork. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rest.

While the dough is resting, place your Dutch oven (lid on) in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully remove HOT Dutch oven and place dough into it. Replace lid and bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered. The bread will be a rich golden brown.

*Cooking Notes* Great care should be used handling a HOT Dutch oven (use thick pot-holders). There is no kneading required using this recipe. I like to allow the dough rise about 14 hours.

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Penne Rigate

I love the smell of good Italian food cooking. Makes you want to take a big ol’ bite of the air! Putting on a big pot of marinara and smelling it cooking ALL day – well, it don’t get much better than that.

But if you don’t have all day to chop and simmer, you can start out with a good jarred sauce and end up with some pretty good aromas, not to mention a yummy supper. Here are a couple things to look for in a sauce:

  • Turn the jar up to make sure the sauce is thick. You can’t always depend on a label to make that judgement for you.
  • If the product has ingredients added, make sure the one you buy matches the end result you want. Fewer ingredients mean you have more leeway to customize the flavor.

I get good results from Bertolli Sauce. Of course, I end up adding this and that and sometimes simmering it a little so the flavors grab on to each other but for this recipe, I kept it simple.

Now, sausage – buy something good quality and that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Many stores have their own brand of sausage that is economical and of good quality. I personally like Publix’s brand of Italian sausage – good flavor and just enough fat to add the flavor to the dish.

You can come home at 5:00 and have this on the table by 5:30. Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and you’ve got supper…quick!

[recipe title=”Penne Rigate” servings=”6″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Penne-Rigate2

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil
  • 1 lb quality Italian sausage
  • 1 lb Penne Pasta
  • 1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper coarsely chopped
  • 1 (8oz) container white mushrooms sliced in two
  • 7 cloves of garlic chopped medium to fine
  • 2 medium zucchini sliced ½ inch thick (may also use yellow squash)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • Cheese for grating on top

Directions

Strip the casing off the sausage, tear into small pieces and place in a large deep sided skillet on medium heat. As the sausage begins to fry you should start to see some grease in the skillet, if not add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and allow to cook until onion begins to brown just a little. Reduce heat slightly, add bell peppers and mushrooms (if it looks too dry to cook without burning or sticking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil).

Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Slightly reduce heat, add garlic and stir. Allow to cook about 5 minutes, stir in marinara, cover and lower to a simmer. This is about the time to cook pasta following label directions.

Add zucchini, stir and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes – NO LONGER. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl making a well in the center, add sauce and grate cheese on top before serving.

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