I’ve found that the best way to battle the Polar Vortex of 2014 is to use the oven to do a lot of baking. (When did they change the terminology from “cold snap” to “polar vortex”? Nevermind.)
I have adapted this recipe from one I found on the Gold Medal flour bag (from The New Artisan Bread). It’s the easiest bread recipe I have ever come across, and it reminds of me the pain rustique – crusty, chewy country loaves – that I used to find in the boulangeries in Paris.
Not only will the heat from the oven warm up your house, but the scent of baking bread – aah! Words will never be adequate to describe the luscious smell of freshly baked bread.
Pain Rustique
Yield: 4 loaves
Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 package dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
enough extra flour for dusting work surface and loaves
2 cups water (for moisture during baking)
In a large mixing bowl, mix water, yeast, and salt. Add all of the flour and stir until all of the flour is moist. You will have a nice, sticky hunk of dough.
Cover with a dish towel and store at room temperature for 2 hours to rise.
Dust a chopping block or cutting board generously with flour. Dust your hands with flour and separate the dough from the bowl. Pinch the dough in the center to form two loaves; then pinch each half again to form a total of four loaves.
Place the first loaf on your work surface, and gently make a ball. Then fold the ends of the loaf into the center of the loaf four time, creating a square.
Flip the loaf over. The turned edges will bake into a smooth underside.
Cover with the dish towel and let rise for another hour. After the first thirty minutes, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place your baking sheet or dishes on the center rack so that they preheat with the oven.
Dust the surface of the loaves liberally with flour, and score an “x” across the top with a serrated knife.
Carefully slide them onto the baking dishes (already in the oven). I used two Pyrex pizza pans. Place two cups of water in a pan beneath the loaves.
Bake at 450 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The crust will be a golden brown and hard to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool.
Stay warm, my friends!
Stacy Rambles 
Stacy, Thanks so much for the recipe! I’ve been making bread for about 5 years now and this recipe is my husband’s favorite by far. And it is so easy….much easier than other recipes I’ve been experimenting with…..so now it is my favorite as well. 🙂
Thanks, Page. I just stumbled upon it and figured I had to share! ❤
Stacy you make it look so very easy! I may try it if I’m feeling ambitious. Yes, we were saying how melodramatic “polar vortex” sounds. What will the next heat wave be called I wonder? “Equatorial circus”? I want you to know that I think of you every time I use my cast iron pot, which is very often.
Oh, these are wonderful, Stacy – I have been looking for a recipe to bake yeast bread that was easy and rustic and here it is! I just went through all my files to find one…..I have been baking Irish Soda bread this past weekend, but there is nothing like the smell of yeast bread in the oven. Thank you for sharing, and knowing I will be bringing home a little taste of Paris is a sweet thought. Hugs, xoxo
It’s funny, but I just happened upon this recipe, Karen. It’s incredibly easy – I hope you enjoy it as mu h as we did! ❤
Stacy, this looks so good! I have always loved home-made bread. I might have to make it in half-batches, though; apartment ovens are not all that large. I can fit one cookie sheet in if it goes front-to-back. Next time I’m out of bread, this is on my list. Thanks for sharing. I’ll do my best not to ‘mess’ with the recipe 😉
I’m glad I’m not the only one to notice the shift to Polar Vortex; I thought maybe I’d missed something all these years. 😉
It’s warmed up here a bit, to minus single digits, so relatively speaking, it’s an improvement. Am not thinking of spring. Am concentrating on seeing the beauty of the snow, everlasting though it may be . . . ~ Linne
If you want, Linne – you can make a batch of this bread and cook only one or two loaves. The remainder can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (in a covered container). ❤
We love freshly baked bread in our family so this is a “must try it” recipe! Easter is usually my bread baking time of the year when I also make a couple of batches of hot cross buns. That’s when the weather has cooled down enough to use the oven too…..BUT, this looks so easy and so yummy, I think I’ll just wait for a slightly cooler day (around now) to try it! Do try to stay warm and cozy Stacy. Cold is cold, no matter what they choose to call it! 🙂
So right, Joanne.
I did think of hot cross buns when I saw this bread. ❤
Dearest Stacy,
Smart way for baking during such cold spells! Guess they changed the terminology from “cold snap” to “polar vortex” as a kind of pay-back to all those multitudes that were crying wolf about Global Warming!
They too should start off from scratch and bake their own delicious and healthy ‘pain rustique’ and wise up.
Hugs to you!
Mariette
Yes, they should! Jeez! ❤
Looking forward to trying this straight from the oven.
That’s the best time to eat it, Guap. Freeze the other three loaves or you might wind up over-induldging. Trust me. ❤
Oh, Stacy, does this look GOOD! Mouth-watering good. Delicious. (Add more adjectives.) You are so right about that term *cold snap*. That was always it. Wonder who thought about the words “polar vortex” and whether they’re still laughing. Probably wishing they could be paid for every use of the phrase.
I don’t know, Kathy, but polar vortex just sounds so serious, like cold weather during winter is an unusual occurrence.
You must try this bread! ❤
If I gather the slightest bit of ambition today it just might happen! If not…soon…
I can already smell the bread baking! ❤
I couldn’t resist toasting some for breakfast!<3