crusty bread | my90acres

Bread, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20. The Food We Eat Series. Kit Miracle This series is all about food. We’re all a little bit obsessed, I think. But what is better than fresh made bread, still warm from the oven? Ah, the aroma. The crunch of the crust when it is cut.

Who doesn’t love the aroma of fresh bread? The crunch of the crust and soft texture of the body?

This week as I was waiting for more canvases to be delivered for my latest series, I spent some time doing some smaller paintings. This is another painting for The Food We Eat series. I guess since we’re all isolated at present, my thoughts return to food. Must be an animal thing.

My husband makes this lovely, crusty bread. I’ve posted the recipe in a previous post. It is very easy and so so delicious. It makes great toast and bruschettas. I think he’s making French toast for breakfast this morning with the last of this loaf. https://my90acres.com/2018/03/28/crusty-artisan-bread/

Bread, detail. It is often difficult to convey in the pictures that I post the brushwork and the texture of the paint. Just click on the picture and expand it to see. You will notice that I actually use very loose brush strokes for much of the painting. Again, as mentioned in my last post, the viewer’s eye fills in many details.

As I was waiting for a frame to arrive for a painting which needed to be delivered this week, I painted this and three other smaller pieces. One plein air and two landscapes. The frame never arrived, due to delays at the factory due to COVID. So I had a good friend make a frame but that’s a story for another day.

Anyway, if you’re not doing anything today and you’d like to surprise your family, or just yourself, try your hand at some homemade bread. You won’t be sorry.

Crusty Artisan Bread

It’s been a raw and unpredictable March with rain, wind, snow, what have you. If you’re still stuck indoors, here is a VERY EASY and VERY GOOD bread recipe. My husband is the bread maker around here and has many favorites, but this one seems to be a hit with everyone.

Don’t be afraid. Just do it! You don’t even have to touch the dough or knead it. Perfect crusty artisan bread.

Ingredients

5 cups of flour
2 1/2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of salt
1 ½ teaspoons of dry yeast

Day 1

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to incorporate. Cover well with plastic wrap. Let sit out on the counter overnight (12-18 hours).

Bread in enamel pan

Day 2

You will need an enamel roaster pan with lid. This should be small size. The old speckled kind that your grandma used to have will be fine. (Our pan is elongated but a round one works fine, too.)

Put the roaster pan and lid into a cold oven.
Turn on the heat to 450 degrees
When the oven reaches 450 degrees, take out the pan (carefully) and sprinkle with corn meal. (No grease or oil.)
Pour the bread mixture into the hot pan, replace lid and bake for 30 minutes
Remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes
The bread should tip out of the pan easily. It will be crusty on the outside and moist on the inside.

You may add other ingredients when assembling on day 1, such as, dried herbs.

That’s it! Serve with a pot of homemade soup. Your friends and family will think you’re a genius.