It started raining last evening and hasn't really let up since then. Oh, we've had the occasional period where it's down to a mere drizzle, but that's about it. Not many real downpours either. One thing that it has done is bring out the green in the trees. Leaves seem to be busting out all over. Except for the locusts. They are always the last to leaf out.
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Anyway, back to my bread making. The dough sat in the oven all night under a cotton dish towel.
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| The bread dough after rising about 10 hours in the cold oven. |
As you can see, it has more than doubled in volume. (I should have put a basin of water in the oven too. The surface formed a bit of a crust from drying out.)
I turned the dough out n a lightly floured surface and stretched and folded the "corners" in as I turned it 90 degrees. Four or five rotations did the trick. Then it went into a greased loaf pan and got popped into the still cold oven where it sat for a little over three hours. During that time, the dough rose again to the top of the loaf pan.
The bread was ready to bake. Terry's enchiladas went in on the bottom shelf and I turned the oven on to bake at 375 and set the timer for 60 minutes.
Forty-five minutes later the enchiladas came out for dinner. Checked the bread at 60 minutes and found the loaf to look perfect. The interior temp was around 190-200 so I took it out of the oven and turned it out onto a cooling rack.
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| Finished loaf looks delicious! |
I let it rest for an hour or so and then just had to slice into it.
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| Sliced loaf. Can you smell it? |
The loft was excellent. I forgot to slice the top to allow moisture and gases to escape. If I had done so, that gap/bubble just beneath the crust might not be there. All I can say is that it has been a couple of months since I baked bread. Mea culpa.
Terry and I enjoyed a slice each with nice soft butter and all I can say is it was yummy!
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