Bread on the Egg - pic heavy

Cookinbob · October 2013

I decided to document a bread cook on the Egg. Started with the dough last night. 32 oz flour, 24 oz water, 1-1/2 Tbsp yeast( 2 packets worth), 1-1/2 Tbsp kosher salt. This recipe and general method comes from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day". I recommend it if you are interested in baking bread.

Flour measured directly into dough bucket, 2 lbs 1/2 oz. Kosher salt was added and whisked into flour.

Here's the yeast all hydrated and ready to go to work. Water is on the warm side - about 105 deg. I dump the water/yeast mix directly into the bucket, and mix with a wooden spoon until it is fully incorporated. It is a kind of shaggy looking dough, but that's OK

Here is the dough all mixed and ready to rise. I will give it about 2 hours.

The dough has fully risen now and will spend the night, and some of it the next week, in the fridge. Plenty of beer in here keeping the temps constant. This no knead dough is fairly wet, so is much easier to work with when it is cold. In addition as the dough ages in the fridge, the yeasties continue fermentation of starches etc and develop much more flavor (or so I am told). Dough can stay for 2 weeks.

Now it is time to bake. At this point you are 1 hour and 15 minutes from taking your baked loaf from the egg or oven.

I flour the surface of the dough with a dredge, flour my hand, and pull out a big hunk which I cut off with a serrated knife. I work it with my hands, pulling the top around and folding into the bottom, turning and making it into a ball with a kind of a gluten "skin". Then, shape into a loaf or whatever (I prefer the football shaped loaf) and put it to rest on a sheet of parchment which I dust with corn meal. I let it rest for about 45 minutes (after 45 it is ready to bake). Immediately before baking I dust the top with flour and make some diagonal cuts which lets the dough expand when it cooks.

Going back a step though, as soon as you have shaped the loaf, it is time to light the egg (which has already been prepped). Plate setter, followed by the grid on top of which is a pan for water, then the baking stone raised above about 4" (I use flour pots as I do not have an AR). It will take most of the 45 minutes to get everything up to 450 deg which is where you want to be with all purpose flour.

When the temp is stabilized, carefully dump a cup of hot water in the steam pan (this can be tricky, I lift the stone with a gloved hand), slide the parchment/loaf onto the stone, close the lid, and set the timer for 30 minutes. 20 minutes in you can pull the parchment if you like, but it is not necessary. Keep an eye on the temp.

I have been told that if you can wait two hours to cut into a loaf, it is at it's best. Good luck with that. This one made it an hour while i put this post together.

The great thing about this recipe, is you mix it once which takes about 5 minutes, then leave it in the fridge until about 2 hours before you want fresh bread to eat. Cook it in the oven or on the egg, but you can have fresh bread 3 or 4 times in a week with one dough batch. It is however possible to get so used to making and eating fresh baked bread, that you eat a lot and gain weight. Don't ask me how I know.

Last comment, I experimented tonight and went without the plate setter, which you may notice in the pics. Better to use it, by the end of the cook, the stone was over 500 and crust bottom was overdone to my taste. PS always in the future.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · October 2013

nothing like bread on the egg. beautiful looking bread.

DMW · October 2013

Nice! Great job documenting it step by step.

ChokeOnSmoke · October 2013

Holy balls does that look good!

Marking this recipe down...

jaydub58 · October 2013

Bookmark!

Gotta try this.....................................

BigWader · October 2013

@Cookinbob - thanks for posting this. Very cool to see it work from start to finish. Can you confirm you make this with AP flour?

caliking · October 2013

All these bread threads have inspired me to try my hand at baking this weekend. Thanks for the idiot-proof instructions!

texaswig · October 2013

I've made that bread before.just not on the egg. IMHO it's hard to beat. It also builds flavor the longer you keep it.

thehungryegghead · October 2013

No knead method is great for those who like crusty bread. I baked mine in a dutch oven and it has turned out perfectly every single time. It's that easy and delicious!

pescadorzih · October 2013

Great looking bread! Simple recipe too.
Thanks for the step by step post.

Cookinbob · October 2013

BigWader said:

@Cookinbob - thanks for posting this. Very cool to see it work from start to finish. Can you confirm you make this with AP flour?

Yes, I use Wegmans (local grocery) unbleached all purpose flour. Have also used King Arthur AP flour, no difference for me. Bread flour will work fine, though I have never tried it. Supposedly the higher protein (gluten) results in a little stiffer and higher loaf. Also depending on your altitude, humidity, etc, you may find increasing or decreasing the flour amount by a couple of ounces gives a result you like better.

Griffin · October 2013

Thanks for the walk through. Should be pretty easy to follow. Can't wait to try it.

SmokinDAWG82 · October 2013

I've bookmarked this, been wanting to try my hand at making bread and these instructions are easy to follow. Great job documenting and great looking bread! Thanks

MO_Eggin · October 2013

Looks great and thanks for the detailed write up. Another entry on the list of future cooks.

Dreamerx4 · October 2013

Thanks for posting this, and the great directions. I was impressed when I saw it last week, so I bought the Book and Containers on Amazon. They arrived on Friday, I made the dough on Saturday AM, and cooked a couple loaves yesterday on the EGG. Unbelievable!

It was gone in no time, and had rave reviews by all.

Again, Thanks!

GlennM · October 2013

I second the Dutch oven. Do everything the same, just heat the Dutch oven on the egg. No need for any water, the evaporation takes care of that. Once the DO is hot, remove the lid (carefully), pick up the dough using the parchment paper and drop it in the hot pot. Put on the lid and leave it 1/2 hr. remove the lid and let it bake until you like the color, longer will give you a mahogany colored crust. Keep the egg at about 400 degrees! You won't believe how good it is!

Griffin · November 2013

Thanks @Cookinbob . Followed your directions to a T last night 'cept I made it in the oven and it came out awesome. Best part of our meal last night. Even Mrs. G liked it and she really doesn't care much or eat much bread. Can't wait to try the next batch on the Egg. Thanks again for sharing it, the detailed instructions and the pictures.

Austin Egghead · November 2013

That looks so tasty. Love fresh bread. Thanks for the pictorial recipe. Bookmarked

hapster · November 2013

Great job on the bread! Looks nice and crusty & tasty

tarheelmatt · November 2013

Great job! I used their method for pizza dough and it came out beautifully.

BTW, I noticed your coffee cup with the GE meatball. Do you work for GE?

SmokinOutBack · November 2013

Bookmarked as well, I think even I can handle that. Nice job!

Griffin · December 2013

Made somre more last night. This stuff is addictive.

caliking · December 2013

The crust looks really good, Grif. I've made no-knead bread a few times in the past several weeks and there's nothing to beat it for simplicity. Have not made any on the egg yet though.

dfrelich · December 2013

Have anyone tried to bake multiple loaves on BGE? A tiered racks? I've done 3 one baking stone. Wonder if we can do another?

Cookinbob · December 2013

@Griffin, it looks like you nailed it. The loaf looks perfect, and yes it is addictive. I made a batch almost every week last year, had to take a break because I gained 20 lbs. Bread with dinner, toasted for breakfast, and bake another loaf. I am itching to start up again, probably next week as this one is kind of crazy.

By the way, if you add a little flour to your mix (maybe 1/4 cup) you will get a little stiffer dough and maybe a higher rise, though taste is the same.

Cookinbob · December 2013

tarheelmatt said:

BTW, I noticed your coffee cup with the GE meatball. Do you work for GE?

Not on their payroll, but I am a channel partner/distributor for a product line within GE Measurement and Control

Cookinbob · December 2013

dfrelich said:

Have anyone tried to bake multiple loaves on BGE? A tiered racks? I've done 3 one baking stone. Wonder if we can do another?

I would probably not try a tiered rack, the baking would be uneven for sure, and you would need to keep checking both levels, which would be bad for the process. I could easily get 4 on my XL stone, you might get 4 into a large if they aren't too large

Griffin · December 2013

Cookinbob said:

@Griffin, it looks like you nailed it. The loaf looks perfect, and yes it is addictive. I made a batch almost every week last year, had to take a break because I gained 20 lbs. Bread with dinner, toasted for breakfast, and bake another loaf. I am itching to start up again, probably next week as this one is kind of crazy.

By the way, if you add a little flour to your mix (maybe 1/4 cup) you will get a little stiffer dough and maybe a higher rise, though taste is the same.

Thanks for the tip, Bob. I'm no expert at baking bread that's for sure. I did notice this batch was a bit wetter which kind of surprised me considering I weigh everything out and did it exactly the same. The only thing I can figure out is that it was really cold outside that day (below 32) and the house was around 68-70 with the heater on and the first time I made it, it was above 70 outside with the AC on.

I think the other problem I ran into was I've been putting a small cast iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven to heat up with the pizza stone to use as my steam source. This time I forgot and think it only got a 10 minute warm up. There was some steam when I poured water in, but nothing like the quick flash of steam I have been getting previously.

I had planned on adding a bit more flour to what is still in my dough bucket since it was so wet. You think that is a good idea?

waegger · December 2013

try that dough for pizza, it is very good and easy to work with. i have had the book for about a year now and have made lots of bread and pizzas perfect every time.

Cookinbob · December 2013

I don't think the steam had any effect on the rise. If the dough is wet, you will get a flatter loaf. That is not necessarily bad, but a higher loaf looks nice

No problem working a bit more flour into the dough at this point. I would just work it in with my hands as I shape the loaf. You could also make a focaccia with the wetter dough. Flatten it out, coat with some olive oil, garlic, herbs, sea salt, or whatever sounds good to you. Rest for 20 minutes, and bake for 25 @ 425. Just don't do it unless you are hungry because you will eat it all shortly after it comes out of the oven

)

When it comes to measuring the ingredients, I actually have better success using the measuring cup than weight - have never weighed what I measure though. Here is a link to a video on the measuring technique - I have best success when I measure this way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP6iLaPniYE

There is also a lot of info on the web including videos at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

Lastly, you ought to pick up the book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day". I can tell, you are getting in to it!

Griffin · December 2013

I did finally get the book the other week, but the newer addition that is supposed to have more recipes. Next up I think is some rye bread to go with pastrami.

Bread on the Egg - pic heavy

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Bread on the Egg - pic heavy

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X-Large & Large
Frederick County, MD