Basics and Techniques

This recipe provides a simple method for making delicious artisan bread with minimal effort, primarily requiring time for a long, slow rise. It involves mixing basic ingredients, letting the dough rest for many hours, then baking it in a preheated dutch oven to achieve a sweet interior and a perfect, crispy crust. The resulting versatile loaf is ideal for any meal, from breakfast to dinner.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes

This is wonderful as a topping for desserts or to sweeten and flavor drinks.

 

Prep time: 6 minutes Cook time: 6 minutes

There are an abundant amount of different chai recipes. This one I tried yesterday for the first time and I love it.

Prep time: 7 minutes Cook time: 5 minutes

This can be used in any recipe instead of vanilla extract. White sugar provides the most neutral taste, but I prefer it with brown sugar (it's so good that I always eat a pinch on its own while baking...).

Prep time: 2 minutes Cook time: 2 minutes

The secret of this basic bread dough is that flour is added to the liquids, rather than the other way round, which is what most regular bread recipes call for. Adding flour into the liquid allows the gluten and fibers to absorb more water, and as a result you get a more pliable dough and a moister, less crumbly bread. In other words, your bread tastes better! We learned this technique through Patricia Wells' excellent book At Home in Provence. In our house we use freshly ground spelt flour, but any good quality bread flour will work. Be creative and try to add other grains than wheat or spelt. Just keep wheat or spelt to 50% or more to provide gluten which makes your bread springy.

Prep time: 21 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes