We make and eat alot of bread. Recently, I've been working my way through Daniel Leader's Local Breads and we also often have a batch of a no-knead recipe going in the fridge, waiting for a quick deployment to the oven and an equally quick devouring.
Sometimes though, you want something quick AND something you can knead. Why knead? Cause it's fun, dammit. It was my favorite part of making bread as a kid (thanks Mom) - getting to pound on the dough, throw it around, get it stuck all over my hands until they had turned into big dough clubs that were useless for anything... except for picking up more dough that is.
The no-knead recipes are easy, and produce tasty, amazing results when you bake the bread in a big, heavy pot, but you're avoiding most of the interaction between your hands and the bread this way. I feel like I'm missing out, like the dough is suffering from neglect... it feels like cheating (the guilt disappears when you bite into a still-hot piece covered with soft goat cheese and honey).
Molly (she's 4) loves to bake and cook and generally get her hands dirty, whether it's with food, or well... dirt. The picture above is a loaf of bread that Molly made. She did everything herself, and I mean everything, except for getting the flour out of the cabinet (too high), slashing the loaf (too sharp) and moving it in and out of the oven (too hot). She poured and measured and scooped and mixed and kneaded... that includes the pounding, pulling and doughclub-hands, of course.
The recipe below is about as easy as it gets. We made one giant loaf - it could make rolls, pizza, pitas, whatever. Shape it like the favorite part of your spouse, significant other or pet. Throw in olives or cheese - it doesn't matter. It's not necessarily going to be authentic, but it isn't going to get any easier and I'm going to argue that there isn't anything more perfect than recognizing the glow in your daughter's eyes when she's beaming with pride over her beautiful bread and dough covered hands.
Molly's Basic Bread
Mix together in a big bowl with a rubber spatula. Scrape the sides down and keep mixing until it all comes together:
3 C all purpose flour
1 1/4 C warm water (a little less water will make it easier for kids to knead)
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp kosher salt (less if using regular table salt)
1 tsp instant yeastDump the dough out onto a floured countertop and knead until it's smooth, not sticky and your kid's arms are sore. Put it into an lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put somewhere warm for a couple hours, until it's doubled (or close to it).
Dump back out on to the counter top and shape, rise and bake however you prefer.
The bread above,we shaped into the loaf, let it rise for another 1 1/2 hours, slashed the top and slid it onto a baking stone in a 450 degree oven. Using the technique from Local Breads, we put a handful of ice cubes into a cast iron skillet that had been in the oven. Steam is good for crust. It was probably in there for 20-30 minutes.
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