The Bread Book

I got this book for Christmas from my daughter

in the past the bread making in this house has always been done by my husband, whose hands are much much stronger than mine to do kneading

but with this book, you don't knead

you mix up the dough

you let it rise -- and FALL! -- once

then you stick it in the refrigerator and use it in pieces for the next week or so

I was sceptical --yeast dough -- a whole week or more -- in the cold?

yup!

and it works -- you can go right ahead after that first rise and finish off a loaf, but it is actually BETTER if you stick in in the 'fridge

so far I've had 4 different kinds of bread out of this book, and I'm planning on making more

I'm seriously considering making pumpernickel, which I really like but has always seemed so incredibly difficult that I couldn't begin to do it at home

it's truly amazing what you can get from four little (and cheap!) ingredients --- flour, water, salt, yeast --- that's "bread on the hoof"

we haven't bought a loaf of store bread since I got the book -- a package of pita this week, but there's a recipe for those too, so I may not be buying those again either

I'll let you know how that pumpernickel comes out