Food For Thought - How Much Do I Loaf You?

How does 928% sound? That’s how much certain big-box retailers are marking up “personal,” or half loaves, of bread. They’re a tempting item for those who don’t want to waste food, but end up actually wasting something more important: your hard-earned money. This week you will learn how, for less than a quarter, you can out-bake “greedflation” and every grocery store in town.

Use any brand or grade of all-purpose flour you have on hand. If you are buying flour for this recipe specifically, try to buy the unbleached variety. The double-pack available at Costco is very highly rated. I used the cheapest Great Value variety available and still achieved impressive results.

You can make this loaf in a Dutch oven or by using the “inverted method,” where the ball of dough is placed on a flat cast iron skillet with another iron skillet placed upside down on top. Either way, the idea is to trap steam from the dough, which gives the loaf that crunchy golden crust.

When first assembling, the wet dough ball should have the consistency of messy mashed potatoes — gloopy. Later, make sure to score the top of the dough ball just before baking so the loaf rises up instead of out. If you do these two things, you will end up with a loaf that looks like you made a trip to an artisan baker.

You might think the convenience justifies the price, but this recipe takes only a few minutes of your time and four ingredients. No kneading required, and your house will smell delicious. Making two of these personal loaves a week could save you $215 a year over buying from the big-box. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of dough.

Ingredients

1 Dutch oven or cast iron skillet and pan
Parchment paper
Mixing bowl

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp instant yeast (1/2 tsp if using active dry)
3/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until they form a sticky ball.
2. Cover the dough ball and leave on your counter for 12–18 hours. It should double in size and get bubbly.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
4. Place the Dutch oven or iron skillets into the oven for at least 30 minutes until thoroughly hot.
5. Scrape the dough ball onto a piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour.
6. Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven or cast iron from the oven and drop the dough ball into or onto it, parchment paper and all.
7. Bake covered for 25 minutes.
8. Remove the lid and bake uncovered for 5–8 minutes, until the crust is golden in color.
9. Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing, about 1 hour.