Live Well, Fail Not
Homemade Rustic Bread

A shared love of food is at the heart of The ReFarmery. One of the most popular dishes among ReFarmery fans is simple and delicious homemade bread. Many have asked for the recipe and been surprised by how easy it is. It is a no knead bread in which even the yeast gets added dry.

Enjoy

3  cups flour
1 package (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
1½ cups warm water (approximately 100° F)

Step 1
Mix all dry ingredients by hand in large bowl or in a stand mixer and add water until a soft and smooth dough forms. If your dough is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time until surface is smooth.

Step 2
Transfer dough to clean oiled bowl.Cover bowl with towel and allow to rise for 3 hours or until the volume has doubled.
**Note: At this point dough can be refrigerated for later baking for up to one week before proceeding with step 3.

Step 3
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Add a shallow pan of water to the bottom rack and place your breadstone on the middle rack, if you are using one. (If not, a cast iron skillet works great, too.)
Turn your bread out onto a well-floured cutting board and let rise again for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats. Just before adding the bread to the oven dust with flour, and score the top with a sharp knife.

Step 4
Bake in your favorite pan, on a cookie sheet or on your breadstone at 400° F for approximately 35 minutes.
Cooking times will vary based on oven and weather differences, but with a little practice you will quickly learn to judge the bread by sight.The bread is done when the body has taken on a golden straw color and the top points of the bread have started to brown. The bottom of the loaf should be slightly spongy but not doughy. Rapping lightly on the crust should produce a hollow sound.

Waste Not, Fail Not Rustic Bread
This adaptation of the recipe above is a much smaller version created to use only a cup of flour. Our one cup recipe produces one little loaf of bread: sandwiches for 2, dinner rolls for 4, french toast for 2, croutons or crostini for 6.
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅔ to ¾ cup warm water (approximately 100° F)

Follow steps above with baking time reduced to 24 minutes