Hi guys,
Welcome to day 3 of vegan month of cheese.
So what does french bread have to do with it?
Well if you're going to put all that effort into making cultured cheese, you'd better
have some damn good bread to put it on.
And this is damn good bread.
The perfect crusty french bread starts with the basics: yeast, water, flour and salt.
In that order.
You want one cup of warm water.
I always just test it with my finger..but if you want to be more exact, 105 degrees
Farenheit or 40 degrees Celsius will do.
A bit over or under is ok.
Mix that with 2 and a quarter teaspoons of yeast and let it sit for a few minutes.
You'll notice the yeast blooming and that's how you know it's good.
Add a half cup of flour, mix that in and a teaspoon of salt.
After the flour is fully mixed in, dump in two more cups of flour.
Now you can get your handy-dandy chopsticks and stir that all together until it gets all
clumpy like this.
You don't have to use chopsticks...I just use them for everything.
Now, make sure your hands are clean before you get them messy.
Just squeeze the dough bitsies together and knead it into a ball.
It might be kinda stiff but don't worry.
Just cover it and let that rest for a good 15 to 20 minutes.
That relaxes the gluten and it will be easier to knead.
So go ahead and knead that on a lightly floured surface.
You may need to sprinkle some flour here or there but try not to add too much.
After a new minutes of kneading, the dough should be somewhat smooth.
You could do this all proper like and knead it for a good ten minutes...but I never do.
My bowl is fairly clean..not too many bitsies, so I'm just sticking that in, covering and
letting it rest for about an hour in a warm place.
My space is kinda cool right now so I'm putting it in the oven with just the oven light on.
After an hour, your dough should have risen to at least double in size.
Punch it down, knead it some more, cover and let it rise again.
I know, you're thinking this is taking forever.
Well, good bread takes time, folks!
Ok, after we wait until it's doubled in size again, go ahead and punch it down.
Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into two to four pieces.
However many loaves you want, really.
Just roll them into some nice long loaf shapes.
There's some proper technique for this...but you guys know my style is casual.
Probably driving some authentic French baker crazy out there.
Sorry.
Set the dough on a baking sheet prepared with parchement paper.
Now get a clean, lint-free cloth, soak it in warm water, then wring it out and cover
the loaves lightly with it.
Leave the dough in a warm place again and yup, we're waiting again.
They should double in size after 45 minutes to an hour.
Now, place a pan on the bottom rack of your oven and set the other rack in the middle.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Farenheit or 232 Celsius.
Remove the cloth carefully from the dough.
If the dough sticks to the cloth, just wet the cloth from above and it should release.
Go ahead and make some slashes with a sharp knife across the tops of your loaves.
You can do diagonal slashes or one down the middle.
Up to you.
When your oven is well heated, get a cup of water ready to pour into the baking pan that's
in the oven.
Spray tops of the dough with water, then place the tray on that middle rack.
Pour the water into the hot baking pan, then close that oven door quickly!
There will be steam so be careful!
Now we wait for 25 more minutes for this bread to bake to crusty perfection.
After about 10 minutes, you can go in and remove the parchment so the bottom will get
crustier, but I'm usually too lazy.
Finally, remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool on a rack like this.
That's it!
Not a lot of work, but kind of a lot of waiting around.
So worth it though.
Hear that hollow sound?
That's the sound of deliciousness.
Let the bread cool for at least a half hour before slicing.
I know, so difficult.
But I don't want you to burn yourself!
Use a good serrated bread knife to slice thick pieces of crusty French bread.
The inside is super soft and fluffy.
Just look at the fluffiness!
Now eat the fluffyness!
Now, spread some good ol cultured hemp cheese on that.
Or some Earth Balance buttery spread.
Thanks so much for watching this!
Don't forget to give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends.
It really helps me out when you do.
Tommorrow, I'll be showing you how to make rejuvelac, the easy probiotic you can make
at home and the key to making amazing cultured vegan cheese that can rival the dairy stuff.
Bye for now and don't forget to subscribe!