Ha! See what I did there? Instead of my posting about bread again and you all rolling your eyes and saying, “Sheesh, doesn’t she have any other hobbies?” I teased you – taunted you – got you to ask about bread! My powers know no bounds!!!
Ahem.
This is called Pain d’Epi, or “Wheat Stalk Bread”, or – as I like to call it – “Every single piece has a buttload of delicious crust!!!” It’s basically the same recipe as the regular bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but you either use bread flour or a little more all-purpose.
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 6 1/2 cups bread flour or 7 cups all-purpose
(note: you could use less – 1 T is enough for me.)
(note: you could use less – 1 T is enough for me.)
Mix it up, let it rise, keep it in the fridge. When you want some, cut off a hunk, gently shape it into a log and put on a whole-wheat (or cornmeal)-floured pizza peel. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then dust it with flour and cut it with scissors (not all the way through) at a 45-degree angle and flip each piece to the side. Slide it in the oven (pre-heated 450) and add a cup of water to the pan inside, and bake for 25 minutes. Break off a crusty chunk and devour.
The kind and amount of flour determines how nicely your ‘wheat grains’ turn out. My dough was a little soft, so they look more like rounded blobs than pointed wheat grains, but I don’t care. Crust. Crust is the whole reason for this obsession.
Again, the genius of this method is you can take as much or as little dough as you want. I’ve learned that I can’t be making these 7-roll-long logs, or I eat the whole thing. Buy the book!