The staff of life

I've been trying to make bread for years, but producing only unappealing bricks.  Our newest cookbook, "Twenty," by Mark Ruhlman, promised that it would remove all the frustration from breadmaking.  The main thing, he says, is to weigh the ingredients instead of measuring their volume.  Keep the flour and water at a 5/3 ratio by weight, and everything will work.  And just look at this gorgeous loaf:

The bread mystery is solved!  My loaf was so tender that it was hard to cut it even after it had rested for 30 minutes, and yet it has a nice crust. I hand-kneaded the dough on the first go-round for about ten minutes.  The "crumb," if that's what you call the size and patterns of holes, is satisfactory for the first time.  The recipe said to keep it up until a small piece could be stretched to translucency; I'm not sure I got there, but it must have been OK.  Then I let it rise in a bowl covered with cling wrap for about 2-1/2 hours.  The recipe said 2-4 hours, but stop when it's about doubled in size and doesn't spring back when you poke a hole into with a finger.  This is the stage where I normally fail, as the dough never seemed to rise properly.  Then punch it down and knead it briefly, let it rest 10 minutes with a towel over it, squish it into as small a ball as possible, and set it in a covered dutch oven that's been oiled on the bottom and sides.  (Whoops, edit, I forgot this part:  let it rise a second time in the oiled pan for 30-60 minutes, depending on how warm the kitchen is.  Without punching it down this time,) Oil the top of the dough slightly and score it with a sharp knife.  Put it in a preheated 450-degree oven for 30 minutes, covered, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and remove the cover.  Bake a few minutes longer until it looks beautiful and an instant-read thermometer registers 200 degrees in the center.  I used one of those remote-sensor devices that buzzes when the temperature hits a set point.  Then cool it on a rack for 30 more minutes before cutting.

This loaf contains 33 ounces of white bread flour and 20 ounces of water, about 2-1/2 tsp. of salt, and 1-1/2 tsp of active dry yeast.  I really meant to use 20 ounces of flour and 12 of water, but I got confused and poured in 20 oz. of water.  No problem, I just added another 13 oz. of flour and increased the yeast and salt a bit from the original recipe's call for 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp yeast.  The final loaf was a suitable size, taking up most of the room in a large Le Creuset enameled cast-iron pot and producing sandwich-worthy slices.

This truly is a lifetime triumph.  For this and other reasons, Ruhlman's cookbook is well worth the price.  It has 20 chapters, each focusing on something basic like stock or eggs.