Bread

We also want to make our own bread. We are still wondering if we should buy a breadmaker or small oven.

Here is a good recipe from Sullivan Street Bakery by Jim Lahey

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

The secret of great bread: Let time do the work
Translation for this recipe
取一大碗, 加入三杯中筋或高筋麵粉, 1/4小匙酵母, 1又1/4小匙鹽和一杯半的水攪和均勻, 然後以保鮮膜覆蓋碗口, 靜置發酵至少十二小時, 長達十八小時尤佳, 是的, 妳沒看錯, 這漫長的發酵就是之所以不必揉麵團的關鍵, 然後取出上頭布滿泡泡的麵團, 質地極溼, 所以手上最好沾點麵粉, 將麵團置於略舖乾粉的工作枱上, 將兩側向內對折成長方形後再向內對折一次, 以保鮮膜蓋住醒十五分鐘。然後取一大盤灑上適量麵粉(或是細玉米碎cornmeal或小麥麩wheat bran), 以麵團不沾黏盤面為原則, 然後以沾上適量麵粉的雙手, 快速將麵團整成圓球形，置於盤上, 上頭再灑適量麵粉(或是細玉米碎cornmeal或小麥麩wheat bran), 以棉布巾蓋上, 二次發酵約兩個小時, 在發酵時間完成前半個鐘頭, 以四百五十度預熱烤箱, 同時將重量級鍋具連蓋一併放入烤箱預熱, 這個步驟就是麵包師研發出來可以以家庭烤箱烤出焦糖色酥脆外殼的秘訣, 預熱完成後, 將鍋具小心移出烤箱(鍋具極熱千萬小心), 打開蓋子, 將發酵完成的麵團, 在不破相拉扯太多的前提下, 以最快的速度迅速放入鍋具中, 蓋上蓋子, 烤三十分鐘, 打開鍋蓋, 再烤十五到二十五分鐘, 取出放涼, 切忌猴急切開, 放涼再享用的用意在於讓麵包堅硬成形, 若過早切開的話, 將落得皮開肉綻的下場。

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Here are some other good websites:

KO's kitchen
http://www.homemade-cake.com/recipes.php?id_cat=12