The easiest bread you will ever make....and yes everyone can do it!

Artisan Bread

Have you ever gone to the grocery store or the bakery and drooled over the breads and then looked at the price....trust me once you make this you will never pay that price anymore since you can make it just as well.  The cost for these 2 loaves will be approx $.50.  Now you can drool over your own bread.

This bread is what I started with, it is super easy, requires almost no ingredients and once you have had a slice you will have a hard time stopping.  TRUST ME!

Artisan Bread (2- 1lbs loaves)

Ingredients 

2 cups warm water
2 tsp of active yeast
2 tsp of salt
3 cups white flour

This is my bowl I use every time, you can see it is not washed
in order to get the sourdough qualities

Directions

Everything is all dumped in at once

1. You will need a bowl that you can cover, or a container with a lid
2. Put the water, yeast, and salt in the container and then pour all the flour in at once
3. Mix with a spoon till it is all blended.  This dough should be very wet, if it is not add a tablespoon of water to the dough
4. Put the lid loosely on your container or cover your bowl with saran wrap and poke one hole in the wrap to let the gasses escape.
5. Place on your counter and let rise for 2 hours
6. You may put this dough in the fridge till at this point if you are ready to use it.  Just make sure you seal the container or recover your bowl so it does not dry out.  The dough will sink and not rise anymore, this is ok.
7. Dump your dough out of the container (it will be sticky and wet) onto a floured surface
8. Cut into two equal loaves
9. Then shape (see picture) and put on top of parchment paper to let rest for at least 1 hour.  I also at this time put the paper and the dough on my baking sheet, so I do not have to transfer it later. It may not rise at all but rather spread out, this is normal.  The longer it rests the better it is, I prefer to let it rest for 1.5 hours to get those internal holes in the bread I love so much.
10. Preheat the oven to 425 F, put a heat safe container into the oven under (lower rack) where you will set the bread (middle rack)
11. Sprinkle the top of the bread with flour and then make even cuts through the top of the dough, don't be afraid, be gentle but get a good deep cut (1/4-1/2 inch cut)
12. Pour 1 cup of water into the heat safe container in the oven, place the bread in (on a cookie sheet or a cooking stone) and quickly shut the door before the steam escapes.  Bake for approx 30 minutes
13. Let cool on a wire rack...resist the urge to cut into it when it is hot, it will be worth your wait

 Container is loosely covered and rising for 2 hours

Notes

• This bread keeps well on the counter overnight uncovered or put in a air tight bag and it will last up to 5 days, the crust will become soft but it still tastes great
• I have tried adding whole wheat flour to this recipe and it can be done, but it does not have the same taste or appeal to me. Feel free to experiment though
• I use the same container every time I make this bread, the container is stored in my fridge as I do not wash it, it gives the bread a sourdough like quality. yummy!