Weekend Cooking - {Artisan Bread}

this weekend i discovered something totally awesome!  well, my boyfriend discovered it a while back when a coworker of his brought in some amazing homemade bread, and this weekend we decided to give it a try.  i'm no baker, but apparently this recipe breaks all kinds of baking rules.

but rules or no rules, this recipe works!  all you need is 4 ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
3 cups water
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

this is the basic recipe, but you can adjust these ingredients to make all kinds of delicious breads.  next i'd love to try olive bread and rosemary bread.  i just might have to buy the book to check out all the different variations.  my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  check out this video to see how easy it is to make your very own homemade bread.

obviously the bread itself isn't done in 5 minutes, but your active working time is no more than 5 minutes tops. i didn't have any corn meal so i baked it on some flour instead.  i baked it at 500F for 35 minutes. it came out great but it's a little doughy.  next time i think i'll keep it in for 40 minutes and see how that works out.

if i can do this, anyone can do this.  enjoy!!