I've found a simple recipe for homemade bread. It's a cool rise, wet dough recipe. I found it on Mother Earth News. They market it as 5min a day bread. NOT!!!! BUT, it is easy! lol....

You make the dough, then it can keep in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. I had to make mine in a very large plastic bowl this first time, but will try to make it in my pampered chef glass mixing bowl (the one with a handle, spout, and lid). I think it will fit! (I hope) I have a large fridge, but I still don't want to dedicate that much fridge space to bread.

Basically the recipe is  6-3-3-13. Which means 6 c. water, 3TBSP active dry yeast, 3TBSP non-iodinized salt (like sea salt), 13 cups all-purpose flour. Simple and cheap, huh? Notes: you gotta use warm water, only mix until ingredients have been combined--no kneading, let rise for 2 hrs before putting into the fridge. On baking day, pull off the amount you want to use (they recommend a 1lb portion), shape into a ball, let rise for 30min, slice a pretty something on the top (cross, scallop, etc), then pop in a 425 degree oven for 45min with a pan of water on the shelf below. They also recommend using a baking stone and pizza peel, dusting the loast with cornmeal on the bottom. Well, I don't have a stone, pizza peal, and have declined to use the cornmeal dusting on the bottom & have still gotten great results! I just put a lil parchment paper on the pan I'm using.

I have really enjoyed having warm, crusty, fabulous bread whenever. It's been non-labor intensive (even though it takes more than 5min when you make it), and CHEAP! A great dollar stretcher!

To see the original article with lots more info & ideas, go here.

missapril_piano:

hey also recommend using a baking stone and pizza peel, dusting the loast with cornmeal on the bottom.

If you can find a plain, ordinary terra cotta paver stone at someplace like Lowes, or at a plant nursery, you can use that for a baking stone.  You can use plain terra cotta for any kind of baking. If you can't find a paver stone, a terra cotta plant dish will work too.  They are alot cheaper than fancy kitchen stores sell.  And if they break, you aren't out alot of money, and it is easy enough to find a replacement. Just make sure you are only using the plain terra cotta, nothing with paint or glaze on it.

Edey

 I throw my own terra cotta, and my understanding is that using the plain fired clay itself is harmful. I have food safe glaze. Would the terra cotta paver be made out of something different?

missapril_piano:

my understanding is that using the plain fired clay itself is harmful

 Missapril, can you tell us why plain terra cotta could be harmful?  I'm curious to know, because my understanding of it is that is just fired clay. Do you know what would be in the clay that would make it unhealthy?  

Baking in a clay pot is not new, in fact has been done for centuries. It has even been demonstrated on Food Network. 

 Edey

 Terra Cotta clay has toxins in it. I took a ceramics class and the instructor stressed this everyday--the importance of thoroughly washing your hands after throwing, no food anywhere near it, don't use food utensils (unless they're old & used only for throwing) as tools, and also not using the once fired objects for food unless a food glaze had been used.

After doing some research online, I think that it really depends on the terra cotta source. I looks like there are varying degrees of natural, no additive like food??

I'm sure the Navajo didn't deal with pollution like we do.

 Something else.... terra cotta is a type of clay, not just the product of fired clay.

I found a great book on google books Clay and Glazes for the Potter that mentions Kaolin, Ball, Fire, Sagger, Stoneware, Earthenware, Adobe, Flint, Shale, Bentonite,Terracotta, and Gumbo. The clays are listed in order of quality and terra cotta is way at the end :-) I still like it! lol....If you use a high quality glaze the high grain visibility doesn't matter so much.

 I thank you for your answer about the terra cotta. It is interesting information about the terra cotta, but for myself I would still use it, but others will have to decide for themselves if it is safe or not. Not to diminish what you said, or it's importance, but I've heard, seen and read so many warnings about things in my adult life that make it sound like we are all going to be poisoned by everything we touch, eat and breathe that it makes you wonder why we even bother with living. Products that I've trusted to be safe and used frequently keep being reported with supposedly one toxic bacteria or another in it, or something has a tiny miniscule micro dot of lead in it, and if we consume it we will all perish. I'm not directing this at you or to anything you said, so please don't take it that way, I'm speaking in generalities,  but this is to convey a great weariness of the persistent drumming message that everything in life is toxic or lethal. I just refuse to live my life with that kind of fear and hyper-awareness. So far I've made it to almost 59 years old, have lived in a house for almost 30 years that probably has lead paint underneath the paint we've put on, and that probably has dry-rot mold in the walls, but I'm still alive and kicking, and except for diabetes otherwise relatively healthy. My apologies Missapril, there are no bad feelings towards what you said. Edey

I have a baking stone .. one is about 17 years old and the other is about 9 years old  both are off the shelf at Lowe's there never been a problem for us .

 No offense taken at all. I thank you for letting me know alternatives that have worked for you. I will continue to research it until I can feel comfortable with one alternative or another. So far, just my cookie sheet with paper on it has done just fine.

I had  pampered chef pizza & loaf  stones, but my ex kept them. He was more attached to them than I was--huge fan of meatloaf and frozen pizza. As I figure he probably lived off of frozen pizza when I left him & it was the least I could do.

gayla50:

I have a baking stone .. one is about 17 years old and the other is about 9 years old  both are off the shelf at Lowe's there never been a problem for us .

Is this made for kitchen use or is it a paver?