43 Reviews of Our Daily Bread in a Crock - Weekly Make and Bake Rustic Bread

From: Madame Blueberry

On Jan 25, 2009

This worked great for me! I do not usually bake my own bread due to the time and effort it takes, but this seemed so simple that I decided to give it a try. I used regular yeast instead of fast-acting, which worked fine. The dough is a little wetter than others I've worked with, so be sure to use plenty of flour on your hands and board when kneading. It is so nice to just take out what I need, and have hot, freshly baked bread or rolls whenever I want. Thank you French Tart for answering my yeast question, and also for sharing this wonderful recipe! UPDATE: Now that I've made this a few times, I still love it. I have realized though that it really doesn't need to be kneaded, that seems to knock the air out of it too much. Just use plenty of flour while stretching and folding it onto itself into the shape you want. I do this on a well floured board, then plop it on parchment liberally sprinkled with cornmeal. Then I slide the parchment onto a board that fits in my microwave. I heat a cup of water to steaming hot in the micro, then quickly open the door and stick the dough in there- I leave the cup on the board if there is room. This way you don't need to cover the dough and it rises very nicely. After 20 min or so, I slash the top, and slide the parchment onto a preheated baking stone, then dump the cup of hot water carefully into a metal baking pan(also preheated) on the shelf below the stone, then shut the door quickly to keep the steam in. Sorry this is so long, but I thought my trial and error might really help someone.

From: Chef Shadows

On Dec 15, 2008

Wonderful!!!! We made just as the recipe was written. Then we played! This bread straight out of the oven has the texture and flavour of English Muffins... then as it cools it takes on the flavour of a "Good Sourdough"! I have added, tonight , some crumbled bacon and fine grated cheddar cheese... The possiblities are endless to what you can add to this bread... I see ham, blue cheese, different herbs... and the list goes one! FT this is a 10 + recipe just for the fact it is so versital (SP ?) Way to go frenchy! Update Dec 15,2008: We are on our 3rd batch now! We have made rolls for burgers, bread sticks with koser salt and herbs, and several different cheese breads, and YES! pretzels! Thanks again FT!

From: magpie diner

On Jan 4, 2009

Love this idea, thanks for the introduction to it! I made this today, as written except that I used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached white. It was easy! I have just baked the one loaf so far, and I agree with Chef Shadows, it does resemble the texture of english muffins...which is great for breakfast. I look forward to trying variations, maybe will add some seeds or other grains next time. I didn't have the fast acting yeast so I just used what I had which was traditional active yeast, the usual fleishman's one in the jar....it rose really well, using 4 1/2 tsp which is supposed to equal 2 of their small packets. Making rolls tomorrow I think! Cheers

From: Dans La Lune

On Feb 6, 2009

French Tart... you know I'm a huge fan of yours! This recipe is EXACTLY what I was looking for: a true, rustic, simple dough that did not require complicated instructions but yielded a pure rustic European taste. I baked a loaf up yesterday after letting the dough sit in the fridge overnight, and it was excellent. I added a pot of boiling water on the bottom rack in the oven as well for that "steam" effect, and what I ended up with was a beautifully risen, golden brown loaf with an incredible crust and a light as a feather interior. The half that was remaining last evening kept marvelously overnight without a bit of staleness to it even though I just kept it loose in an unsealed bag. Needless to say, after breakfast and lunch today, our loaf has run out and I have another beautiful baguette in the oven now. I will say that I love how after I pull a portion of dough from the crock, a few hours later it has all risen again in the crock... makes me think it'll keep replenishing itself! Anyway, thank you for sharing your top secret recipe... I am so excited to be able to have fresh European style bread rather than the grocery store's pathetic imitations. Bisou bisou et merci encore!

From: bmarie

On Jan 13, 2009

This is awesome! Homemade bread is so much better than store bought, and this way I can have it whenever I want! Right now I am baking a loaf with brown sugar and cinnamon. I've made rolls, breadsticks and baguettes and all have been fantastic!

From: PKG

On Jan 28, 2009

Thank you so much for sharing this! My hubby is THRILLED now that he can have fresh, crusty baked bread at home everyday. Just after I put the bread in the oven I put a tray of ice cubes in a 9x13 pan underneath the rack with the bread to create a steam effect. Thank you thank you thank you!

From: coffee crazy

On Mar 15, 2009

OHHH MYYY GOOOOSH! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I grew up in Switzerland, living in the US now, I'm craving the "real" bread like crazy! I used to make Zopf bread on special occasions, but because of all the sugar and butter, that was only a special treat! NOW THIS IS IT! It tastes wonderful! When I fixed the dough I was convinced I did something wrong, it was one creamy, sticky mess, I added some more flour until I atleast could kned it some. I used normal yeast, since I didnt have the rapid rise. Let it rise for 2 hours and put it in the fridge over night. I knedded again this morning with some flour, but the bread fell together and flattened in an instant. Really dissapointed I had put it in the oven, with a big bowl of boiling water and you know what? After 15 minutes peeking in the oven, that flat mass looked like real bread. The one I powdered with flour was rising higher than the one I brushed with butter and garlic. I was delighted, much more after I took it out and ate almost a loaf by myself! My belly hurts now, but I'm happy!!!! My family better hurries up and wakes up this morning. There is no guarantee that there will be any bread left soon. Who sznooses looses Merci beaucoup!!!!! Severine

From: LifeIsGood

On Mar 1, 2009

Holy smokes!!! I'm pulling out my imaginary 10 star rating for this recipe. This is a wonderful gem of a bread recipe. It was incredibly easy to prepare and the fact that there is more stored in my fridge is exciting!! We finished the whole loaf with dinner because we couldn't stop slicing more bread. I used 4 and a half cups of white bread flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. I opted for kosher salt instead of sea salt and it worked fine. The initial kneading was done effortlessy by using my stand mixer with the dough hook and it didn't take long. Fantastic recipe. Delicious, crusty bread. THANK YOU!

From: Rock Farm

On Jan 14, 2009

This is by far the easiest way to have excellent artisan bread that I've found yet. I've been experimenting with pre-ferments and No-Knead style recipes - but this was easy! The rolls I made with it had a great flavor and nice chewy crust. I (like other reviewers) used half wheat flour and half bread flour. I also used cool water and put it in the fridge right away, instead of warm water and the 2 hour rise. I used 1 1/2 tsp of SAF Instant yeast. Thank you so much!!

From: zaar junkie

On Jan 16, 2009

This is great, thank you. Really easy too. I also did 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat. For my first baguette, I put a melted butter/minced garlic mix on top and it turned out really well. I cooked it for 30 minutes as instructed and the bottom kinda burned a little, but I think that's just because of the size of the loaf - not an error in the recipe. I'll have to remember to keep in mind to adjust the amount of cooking time based on what I'm making. I'm excited to have fresh bread all week, thanks again! Edit: I've used up the entire batch, which has made the baguette I originally reviewed, 4 large hamburger buns, and 2 additional baguettes. I've reduced the cooking time to about 25 minutes and I no longer have the kinda burnt bottom. I also haven't really noticed a difference in adding a jar of boiling water while baking. This has been great and very convenient. My last two baguettes were brushed with earthbalance butter/minced garlic/rosemary and they turned out wonderfully. Thanks again!