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Very Basic Bread Recipe

Very Basic Bread

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Average Rating:

Total Reviews: 116

Showing 11-20 of 116

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  • on May 17, 2011

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    This bread was AMAZING! It was as good as I remember my grandma's as being. Did I mess up? Yes. But it still turned out beautifully! I did use a pizza stone to bake on instead of the terra cotta pot but it worked wonderfully. I didn't have to use the cornmeal either- it just slid right off. I'm glad this recipe takes a little preparation time,otherwise I would be eating a loaf a day!

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  • on April 04, 2011

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    YUMMY!!!! This was AMAZING (even though I messed up so much .... Firstly, I do not have a food scale, so I had to google all the equivalents and do my best to keep it accurate. I also do not have a stand mixer, I kneaded the dough by hand (I also added too much flour because it was not sticky at ALL and it was very hard. I couldn't get it to the point where it would stretch out for light to come through, so I made it into a ball and left it to rise. It took 2 1/2 hours to rise the first time. I took it out and 'knuckled' it and rolled it into a pathetic ball...after letting it rise and doing the box cuts, I put it in the oven on an inverted cookie sheet (no terra cotta... and cooked it for around 30 minutes (no thermometer. I took it out and did not wait a second to dig in!! 30 minutes? REALLY? I had it fresh from the oven ... it was PERFECT and I ate about half the loaf right there!!!! I strongly suggest this recipe - it is very hard to go wrong!!!

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  • on April 01, 2011

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    Alton Brown has crazy mad food science skills. And his explanation of why one should use Rapid Rise yeast, combined with cold temperature was enlightening. His trick for keeping the dough from enveloping the dough hook by momentarily increasing the mixer speed was nothing short of genius. Alton also suggested using a rubber band to mark the original dough level ensuring proper rise, a great idea....and the inverted clay pot saucer well....gobsmacked!
    Unfortunately these "cook notes" weren't in the recipe when I made this boule', I had to hunt the net to find the Dr. Strangeloaf episode. (Suggest Food Network simplify this process.
    My personal suggestions, wet hands and lightly wet counter when working the dough, really eliminates sticking.
    It would be nice if this recipe segued into other versions e.g. whole wheat, seeded etc...
    Another reviewer suggested making multiple poolishes at one time so they're on hand when you want to make bread. A really good, solid recipe.

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  • on March 21, 2011

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    While this very basic bread is awesomely tasty with a beautiful crisp crust & Chewy interior, I'll have to go on record for saying that the multiple steps for making it reduced the rating to 4.

    I added rosemary to mine, and the bread turned out Golden, Brown & Delicious and perfect to eat with some salted butter and a slice of aged Gruyere on top!

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  • on February 06, 2011

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    This bread is delicious. I make it in a loaf pan and we use it for our sandwiches. It is easy and delicious. By far my favorite for turkey sandwiches!

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  • on October 20, 2010

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    Made 3 loaves of this at my last gathering. Served them with honey butter. They were gone in 30 minutes flat. Ridiculously good bread.

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  • on October 17, 2010

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    I am an experienced bread baker and have many books on bread available to me. This is the recipe that I use the most. This is also the bread that my daughter requests the most. I don't have a stand mixer, and the recipe works just fine kneading by hand. I think that this is a great recipe to introduce someone to bread making. Bread making is really all about technique, and the techniques taught here can be used to make more complex breads. The two most important ingredients in bread making are patience and a good scale. If you follow the recipe you are just about guaranteed a delicious, crusty loaf of bread.

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  • on September 21, 2010

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    C'mon already, Alton. Basic bread is 4 ingredients, and a couple of rises. Why must you make everything so difficult?

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  • on August 05, 2010

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    Although there is a lot of inactive cooking time, in the end it is well worth the wait.

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  • on June 30, 2010

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    This bread is great! The directions are easy to follow, ingredients are simple, and the taste and texture is right where you want it. I followed the directions to the letter (almost... more on that later and the bread was a huge hit with the family. Although... about 14 hours from start to finish and gone in 20 min.

    I followed the directions really closely, but I did make some changes here and there. First, I didn't have a stand mixer and didn't want to go out and spend $300 on one to make bread. So I mixed everything by hand and kneaded the dough roughly 25 minutes to get it where I wanted it to be.

    The second was, I floured an inverted cooking sheet to use instead of cornmeal on pizza spatula. I didn't want to buy the cornmeal just to use for this. A bit of a mistake here. The flour wasn't enough and stuck to the sheet and I had to pull at it and spray the bottom with a non-stick spray. That worked... kinda. The bread deflated a bit while I was pulling at it. Next time will try it with the spray from the beginning or try the cornmeal.

    Third, instead of the terracotta dish, I used the quarry tile. But... I found out it cracked through the middle when I took my bread out. I think that either it was adding the water for steam a bit late in the process or the cold dough caused it to crack. Or... maybe there was a problem with the tile from the start.

    Regardless, it still came out great. Can't wait to make it again.

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