By When I worked for a company here in Atlanta, we often would have cooking and baking challenges for fun. One time we had a bread making challenge. I thought I had it made as I used to own a bakery and new how to make all sorts of breads. I took a risk and did a simple bread, which was good. However I got beat by some delicious focaccia bread. I am still a fan of this simple recipe. The lesson learned is now how you’re being judged – there were points for creativity that a basic bread will not deliver on.
Bread in general is simple – starting with 4 ingredients (water, flour, salt, yeast). Of course you have recipes with sugar, milk, oil and all sorts of add-ins. I recommend if you’re starting out that you master a foundational recipe such as this one (or English Toast Bread). Then you can tackle the more challenging ones.
The recipe is in the link above – I didn’t change it. It produces a very nice crust. I was quite nervous about using my Le Creuset Dutch Oven at such high temperatures but it survived it.
