Bread Baking Day

Woke up to a chilly 14°F morning here today.  Yeterday  I finally had a day to bake the skillet bread (bread baked in a cast iron pan).  It's the next best thing to baking soft rolls, but in a one skillet version.  By the way, this bread, cubed up works great for a breakfast souffle too.

It doesn't look as nice, as I used a serrated knife, thinking it would make it look better on top.  Anyway, just run a straight knife to make the lines for baking.

Here is how I bake my bread in a cast iron pan (also called skillet bread).

(Skillet Bread recipe from I Heart Eating, with adapted organic ingredients and adjusted instructions).

I do use a thermometer to check the temperature of my measured water.

1 1/2 cups warm water ( 110-115°F)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast, active dry

2 Tbsp. honey, organic

Stir and let sit.

While water, honey and yeast sit and do their thing (let sit about 10 minutes), I measure the flour, olive oil and salt for the mixer.

2 1/2 cups organic bread flour

2 Tbsp. organic olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

When the yeast/water/honey mixture is ready, add it to the mixture in your mixer.

Gradually, mix in another 1 cup of flour, move your dough to a bread cloth our floured surface to knead for 5 minutes.

Recipe calls for 3 1/2 - 4 cups of the flour.  I use 3 1/2 in the mixer, and save the last 1/2 cup for kneading on my bread cloth.  Less flour makes a lighter, fluffier, softer bread in the end.

It was 7 °F outside, so I used my dehydrator to help the bread rise (has a bread raising temperature, as most larger dehydrators do, and some ovens now-a-days).  Let it rise for 30 minutes.

I cover my bowl with a damp cloth (vs. saran wrap).  It helps the dough from drying out while in the dehydrator.

Remove and made a nice ball of dough, placing in the center of a oiled cast iron pan.

The original recipe states to let the dough "rest" next, but the dough will not rise.  I put the dough in my oiled cast iron pan, and put it back in the dehydrator for another rise.  It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.  Keep an eye on it.  After 2nd rise - using my 10 inch cast iron pan.  Also, to do this, I lightly oil a piece of parchment and place that over the dough ball, then cover it all with the damp towel.  The parchment keeps anything from sticking to dough, as it rises for the 2nd time.

Using a sharp knife make two lines in one direction, and one straight down both of the previous ones. It produces a beautiful, and delicous loaf of bread.  It tastes like soft homemade baked rolls.

Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 400°F, for 20 minutes.  you may need to adjust baking time, but less than 20 minutes was not long enough in my oven.  You want the top to be browned.

Using a piece of waxed paper (or saved butter wrapper), rub butter over the crust as soon as you remove it from the oven.  It will ensure your crust to be soft when it cools completely.

It pops right out of pan when it is cooled.  Good luck getting folks in the house to wait lol!  Enjoy!

                          

A photo of the same bread I baked back in 2021.  Gosh it's been that long ago.

I am going to freeze a few pieces this time around, and see how well it stands up after thawing.  Happy bread baking!

Bread Baking Day  © December 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart