Do you ever buy things you don't need, just because they're on sale? This used to be a terrible habit of mine with clothes - I'd have a closet full of things that were such a good buy that I couldn't pass them up, but then none of them could actually be wrestled into a coordinated outfit. For better or for worse, having children has cured me of this, since I no longer have time to wander into stores just to see what's on sale. But I seem to have transferred the bad habit to my grocery shopping. Last week our grocery store had bone-in chuck roast on sale, and for some insane reason, I thought that seemed like a great thing to buy. Only $1.99/lb! So let's get a 5.5 lb one!
Dumb.
First of all, the damn thing was so big it wouldn't fit in my dutch oven. Instead, I had to use my roasting pan. And my attempt to brown it first was a disaster. I heated the roasting pan on the stove top and got the bottom half nice and brown...and then it was too heavy to pick up with tongs, so I couldn't flip it. Then trying to cook it in the oven and use tin foil as a lid...ugh. Let's just say it wasn't one of my better dinner results. When I pulled it out and took the tin foil off, my husband took one look at it and said, "It looks like roadkill." Thanks, dear. Unfortunately, he was right.
So, note to self. Just because it's on sale doesn't make it a good buy.
***
On the bright side, I finally got motivated to try baking bread at home. And it was, in word, Fabulous. You may have seen the recipes floating around from the New York Times several years ago about a bread-making technique that doesn't require any kneading. I've been wanting to try it forever, and just never got around to it. Thanks to a post on a Wall Street Journal website about how easy it really is, I finally got motivated and tried it this weekend. Here's the original New York Times article, which has an accompanying recipe. I used the recipe that was posted on the WSJ website, which follows with my notes (it's slightly different from the NYT recipe, but not much different). In baking, I think there are few recipes that are truly fool proof, because it requires so much precision. But based on my own oversights and omissions while making this bread, and the fantastic results we still got, this one truly is foolproof.
Juggle Bread (so-named by the WSJ author because making this bread fits so nicely into her daily juggle)
2.5 cups white bread flour
0.5 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. instant yeast (Um, confession here. I don't know the difference between instant yeast and regular yeast. Which means when I read the recipe I didn't pick up the fact that it called for "instant" and I just jotted down "yeast" on my grocery list. I got regular yeast and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. Oops. But it still turned out fine.)
1 and 1/3 cup cold water (I actually used hot tap water, because I was worried that my regular yeast wouldn't activate with cold water.)
Mix dry ingredients with a fork.
Add water and stir vigorously until all flour is incorporated; alternatively, knead with hands for about 30 seconds.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 18 - 24 hours. (I did roughly 24 hours.)
Cut a square of parchment paper and lay it on the counter top. Cover the top of the dough with bread flour and, using one hand, pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it into a smooth ball. Place the ball, seam-side-down, onto the parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise 1.5 to 2 hours, no more. (Oops again. Missed that "no more" part when I read the recipe and I think I let mine rise about 3 hours because I got distracted with other things.)
Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. (My Le Creuset Dutch oven may seriously be the best thing I've ever gotten for my kitchen. I cook with it all the time. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list today. Or just go get one - as my grandmother would say, You Deserve.) (And by the way, oops AGAIN. I totally skipped this step. Seriously, I am not usually this flaky when cooking, but it was a really, really busy weekend. After rereading the NYT article, I realize that had I not skipped this step my bread would have had an even chewier crust, so I'll be sure to do it next time.)
Lift parchment paper by ends and place in hot Dutch oven. (At this point I brushed some olive oil on the top of my dough and give it a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.)
Cover. Bake for 1/2 hour. Remove lid. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until a golden crust is formed. Immediately remove bread from pan, discard parchment, and allow to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Despite my inability to follow such simple instructions, this bread was absolutely wonderful. Totally made up for the roadkill pot roast. Happy eating!
