Recipe: Brother's Bread (crunchy crust)

Brother's Bread (crunchy crust)
rec.food.cooking/LHRoberts (1995)

This is a great peasant bread that I saw the author demonstrate at The Broadway Panhandler in New York, NY. I tried the recipe out at home a few days later (my first attempt at bread baking) with great success. The crust is hard and crunchy and the inside is firm with a great taste to it.

I suggest making the loaves, scooping out the insides to make soup bowls and making some homemade croutons with the leftovers insides!

Brother's Bread
Recipe By: The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking by Bother Rick Curry
Serving Size: 16

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal
vinegar

Combine the yeast and water in a large bowl, stirring until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in sugar and salt. Mix well. Set aside for 5 min.

Beat for 10 min., gradually adding flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8-10 min., until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary to prevent stickiness.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk -- about 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal or line one with kitchen parchment.

Punch down the dough. Divide in half, shape into two round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. Carve an X in the top of the loaf and spray with vinegar. Place in a cold oven and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.