The Perfectly Possible Impossibility

Thanks to Karianne and her Impossibilities Challenge, I am very happy to say that bread baking and I are no longer enemies! I am now on speaking terms with Active Dry Yeast again, and have high hopes for many more enjoyable, varied, and delicious get togethers in the future.

I had decided to ease my way into this bread baking challenge by attempting to make Williams- Sonoma's Rosemary-Lemon No Knead Bread, since for a long time now, a beloved staple at 24C's table has been Essential Bakery's Rosemary Diamante Bread...and the thought of being able to make a similar version really excited me. The chants of 'fool-proof' regarding No Knead breads might also have had somewhat of a hand in the choice as well.

So I gathered my flour, Active Dry Yeast, cornmeal, salt, rosemary, and lemon...and got to making some bread!

The recipe calls for two teaspoons each, chopped rosemary and lemon zest...but for the zest, instead of chopping, I chose to use a microplane grater, which worked beautifully. One lemon produced the needed two teaspoons, as did 1 sprig of Rosemary.

The lemon zest and rosemary were added to the other dry ingredients...

And all were whisked together.

Then came the part I was nervous about...adding the water. The recipe didn't specify warm water, which is what I've always thought was needed when working with yeast, so I was a bit unsure of what to do. In the end, I used warm water. I didn't use a thermometer, just my finger, making sure that it was 'just' warm, and not hot or cold. All was then stirred together...and right then and there, the smell became intoxicating!

The dough is very, very sticky, and initially I had used a wooden spoon to stir it, but after having some 'issues', I quickly switched to a large rubber spatula which helped tremendously, especially in scraping the dough off the sides of the bowl so that a nice, clean little lump could be formed. Then the dilemma of where to let the dough 'get happy' for 12-18 hours, at 70* popped up...and Mr. 24 came up with a marvelous solution.

Our little guest bath, which isn't quite finished yet, is always at a nice and steady 70* due to the radiant heat and tile flooring in there...it would be the perfect incubator! The thermostat that controls the radiant heat for the 'south wing' of the house is in the bathroom, so we always know exactly what the temperature is there, which lucky for us in the winter, is 70*!

The dough sat where our future clawfoot tub is going to be (I dream of that day).

I set the bowl away from the window to ensure warmth, and said goodnight to the little critters who were going to be working the night away, creating the magic & bubbles needed for the next stage of the process.

In the morning...there were definitely bubbles, but I felt that there could be a few more, so thinking that even more warmth might be beneficial, I moved the dough to kitchen, turned on the very warming vent hood lights, and let it sit another few hours on the stove top.

I had read that 12 hours of resting is minimum, but that 18 is optimal...I went with 17, and there were definitely more bubbles by then...the dough was ready!

I sprinkled flour on the counter, scraped the dough out of the bowl onto it (which was quite messy-such a sticky dough!)...sprinkled more flour on my hands and on the top of the dough...attempted to fold it over a few times (it's like trying to fold jello over). It then rested on the counter, covered in plastic wrap for 15 minutes, while I got a little cornmeal bed ready for the 2 hour nap that was next on the dough's agenda.

WAY too much cornmeal...!

After the 15 minute rest is when the fun began! You are somehow supposed to form the very gloppy blob of dough into a ball, with a *seam* on the bottom....HA! There was no forming and no seaming...but I did my best, and somehow managed to get the dough on to the towel (I still have no idea how) in the precarious shape of a lumpy ball.

More cornmeal was sprinkled on top of it (again, WAY too much)...

And then it was gently 'tucked in' with another flour sack towel laid lightly atop of it. The 2 hour cornmeal quiet time had commenced!

During this time, I got my trusty little yellow pot ready by protecting it's knob with some foil, which my friend Jacqueline suggested I do (very grateful for that tip J~), given that the oven temperature of 450* might be a bit too hot for it...and I also cleaned the bowl and the counter, which looked as if a PlayDough convention had just passed through (sticky!!).

At the 1 1/2 hour mark, I placed the pot in the oven and pre-heated it to the recommended 450*. At the two hour mark, I carefully pulled the towel off of the dough, saw that it had indeed puffed up a bit during it's nap (don't we all...?), and then realized that somehow, I had to literally 'dump' the dough into the awaiting, very hot pot. I started to wonder what was to become of all that cornmeal, as you were supposed to lift the towel up with your hand underneath the dough, to do the dumping. So I decided to try and 'spill' as much of the cornmeal as I could onto the counter next to the stove, where the hot pot was now awaiting it's sticky package.

It worked quite well...and I was able to get the dough into the pot with only a minimal amount of cornmeal scattered about the stove and kitchen, though I did have to bring the vacuum out afterwards.

I gave the pot a couple of shakes as suggested in the recipe, placed it in the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes...and let it bake away to it's hearts content. This is where the bread's heavenly aroma really started to wander throughout the house, causing me to think that this whole endeavor might actually produce a real live loaf of deliciously edible bread.

After 30 minutes, this is what it looked like. Now it was supposed to bake with the lid off for another 15 to 30 minutes...how, may I ask you, was I supposed to know which?! Was it 15 or 30?? How was I to tell...the crust was already looking golden, it sounded hollow when I tapped it...what was I to do? Well, I went to the computer, looked up several recipes again, and decided that since most went for the 30 minutes, I would do 25...and it worked!

Using a fish spatula, I lifted the bread out of the pot after a total time of 55 minutes, set in on a rack to cool...

And just stared at it for a while...it looked good!!!

The real test came though, when later that evening, after I coming home from work, with an armload of Thai food for dinner...I sliced into the bread and Mr. 24 and I had our first taste...it was perfect, in every way...even with extra cornmeal crunch coating!

The lemon and rosemary weren't over powering at all...they were very subtle, yet definitely there, and the interior was soft and airy...just as it should be...I couldn't have been more pleased, and quickly...we both became addicted to it and almost forgot that we had an enormous amount of Thai food awaiting us and that we probably shouldn't eat it all then and there...so we didn't...we've saved that pleasure for tonight!!

Thank you again to Karianne, and to her friends who have shared in hosting this Challenge Extravaganza...and also to Jacqueline, and to Williams-Sonoma...you have all helped me to conquer a very silly fear with great success, I am so very grateful!!!

Please visit Karianne at Thistlewood Farm to see what others chose for their challenges...the range was anything and everything. I think my next challenge might be filing...still my greatest nemesis.

What would your great challenge be? I'd love to hear about it!