(cheerful music)
- Hey everyone.
It's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com.
Today, I'm going to show you how you make your very own
bakery quality bread right in your kitchen.
Now I've tested 14 loaves before I came up with this recipe.
It's so easy and I've made it countless times.
You guys are gonna love it.
(cheerful music)
Now you've probably have everything you need
for this recipe right in your pantry,
so start out with a cup and a half of warm water,
half a tablespoon of salt,
3 fourths of a tablespoon of active dry yeast.
Then, you need 3 cups of better-for-bread flour
or you can use all-purpose flour
and finally a couple tablespoons of cornmeal,
and that's optional.
So let's get started.
Put that cup and a half of warm water into a medium bowl
and add your salt.
Stir that up a little bit to dissolve.
And then you're just going to sprinkle over the top
with your 3 fourths tablespoon of active dry yeast (1 packet).
Let that sit for one to two minutes and then stir.
Now we're gonna stir in 3 1/4 cups of flour.
Now I measure this flour exactly
by putting it the measuring cup
and then scraping off the top.
And we're just gonna fold that flour in,
just until it's combined.
See how easy that was?
Absolutely no elbow grease or kneading required.
So once that just comes together,
you're gonna cover it up with plastic wrap or a lid
and set it aside at room temperature for about 2 hours
and it should double to triple in volume.
Alright, our dough has risen beautifully,
so now what we're gonna do is we're gonna dust
a large sheet of parchment paper with some flour.
And you wanna be generous with your flour,
so it doesn't stick because this dough is very sticky.
Okay, so lots of flour.
And then, just transfer your dough right over the top.
And then, with well floured hands-
So really get your hands nicely coated.
You wanna fold this in half
and then in half once more.
Then, dust the dough generously with flour
and you're gonna lift it up in your hands to form a ball.
Then, dust some cornmeal over your parchment paper
or add a little more of flour
and set your dough right back over the top,
right over the center, with the seam side down.
Now, you wanna let that sit uncovered
at room temperature for 40 minutes.
Ten minutes before your bread is done rising,
you wanna get your oven ready.
So you're gonna setup two racks,
one in the center and one in the bottom.
You're gonna preheat that oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
and also preheat the baking sheet
that you're gonna cook the bread on.
Then, boil 1 cup of water.
Our dough has risen beautifully,
so now what we're gonna do is
lightly dust the top with a little bit more flour.
And then, you're gonna score it three times
with either a serrated knife or just a very sharp knife
and this will make your bread look a little bit fancier.
Bakery-style.
Now we're gonna take 1 cup of hot water
and pour it into just a regular baking dish.
Now place that baking dish on the bottom rack
of your hot oven.
And we're gonna pull out that hot baking sh-
hot cookie sheet that we had prepared
and transfer your bread right onto it.
Now, obviously you're gonna want to use a oven mitt
because this is hot, hot.
Okay, now back in the oven it goes,
20 to 25 minutes until it's golden brown.
My favorite way to eat freshly baked bread
is to dip it in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil,
little bit of balsamic vinegar,
a sprinkle of salt and pepper and just use that as a dip.
Just like in the restaurants.
You guys are gonna love it.
It's delicious.
It's soft, airy, and the skin has
just the right amount of chewiness.
And you know what else these are great for
is paninis, make sandwiches, have it with soup.
Ah, just wonderful all around.
Thanks so much for joining me in my kitchen,
spending time with me.
If you want to print the recipe,
visit NatashasKitchen.com, there's also links below.
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
(cheerful music)