Day 25: Buttermilk Bread

Today (well, actually yesterday because I'm a day late writing this) was another day that I didn't make any recipe to share with my followers (the nine of you!). So, I will share a recipe of some bread that we made today. It was delicious!

For yesterday I ate:

Breakfast:
Kale and egg whites and an egg (Big Bubs took all of my tomatoes from me)
Homemade bread, toasted with butter

Lunch:
Homemade Rye bread with smashed avocado and tomato slices on top, yummy!

Dinner:
Costco rotisserie chicken (these are so delicious!)
Green beans
Instant garlic mashed potatoes from Trader Joes


Snacks:
Edamame crackers
Bowl of Koala Crisp cereal with rice milk

Recipe: Buttermilk Bread
This book came from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It is another winner and I REALLY URGE you to go buy this book! My husband and I love making our own bread and the process is pretty simple and it is awesome to make our own bread with so few ingredients.


Ingredients:
2 cups lukewarm water (about 100º)
1 cup buttermilk (we used lowfat)
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (Costco sells a 32 oz yeast package for $4 and a little glass jar at the store goes for around $8!)
1 1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Mix the yeast, salt, and sugar with the water and buttermilk in a 5-quart bowl (or a lidded food container)

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon (or a food processor or standing mixer with the dough attachment). If you are using a spoon, you might have to use your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise or you can refrigerate it in a lidded container and it can be used over the next 7 days.

5. On baking day, lightly grease a 9x4x3-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a 1 1/2 lb piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Elongate the ball into an oval.

6. Drop the dough into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half-full.

7. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes (or just 40 mins if you are using unrefrigerated dough). Dust the loaf with flour and slash the top, using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the top surface with melted butter.

8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350º. If you're not using a stone in the oven, 5 minutes is adequate. A baking stone is not essential when using a loaf pan.

9. Bake the bread near the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

10. Remove from the pan. Allow to cool completely before slicing, or it will be nearly impossible to achieve reasonable sandwich slices.

*I want to stress again that you should just go and buy this book! It is well worth it, especially if you like fresh homemade bread!

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: Makes three 1 1/2-pound loaves (we made two bigger loaves)-72 ounces. Information below is for 1 ounce of bread.
Calories: 43
Carbs: 8
Fat: 0
Protein: 2

We also used this bread recipe as a base and made a loaf of Cinnamon-Raisin bread (pictured in the middle), which was delicious! You will have to get the book to get that recipe!