The quarantine has led me to a lot of bread recipes. I enjoy trying new things but I come back again and again to my favorite loaf .The recipe works as a boule and a loaf. It is delicious with butter, hearty enough for soup and fantastic as garlic bread. This is a recipe from my all time favorite bread book- Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Everyone should buy this book . The premise is simple, make a no-knead dough and let it rise slowly. The yeast does the gluten development for you. Let it rest in your refrigerator. The bread picks up delicious sourdough flavors. When you want to bake, all you have to do is separate out enough dough for one loaf and shape and let it rise.

This recipe makes two loaves- about a pound each. This can be doubled easily if you are planning to bake 4 loaves over 14 days.

1. Mix 1.5 cups of lukewarm water with 1/2 tbsp of instant or active dry yeast. Add to 60 gm of rye flour (1/2 cup) and 390 g of all purpose flour (around 2 3/4 cups) and 1/2 tbsp of caraway seeds and 3/4 tbsp of kosher salt. I mix with a danish whisk but you can use a spoon or your hands or the paddle on a stand mixer-  make sure all the flour is incorporated.  Do not knead
2. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours (until the dough rises and then flattens on top)
3. Refrigerate and use within the next 14 days (it really is that easy)
4. Baking day! Seperate out half the dough and shape  into the bread you wish. Dust your worksurface with flour and shape into a ball or an oblong if you plan a loaf.This is the toughest part. The dough will be wet and sticky and it is important to shape it properly with a thin film of flour. If this is your first time- watch some youtube videos. Place on parchment or a greased loaf pan (8 1/4 inch) . Cover with a dome or greased plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours. In a loaf pan, the bread will be about half an inch below the lip of the pan.
5. Make the cornstarch wash (mix 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 tsp of cornflour and microwave for 1-2 minutes till glossy )
6. Preheat oven to 450 F with a baking stone for 30 minutes. This bread needs steam at the start of the baking to  soften the crust and to allow it to rise. Any steam injecting method will work. I bake in a covered dutch oven if I am baking a round, if I am baking a loaf , I add a pan with water while the oven is preheating.
7. Paint the top of the loaf with cornstarch wash, sprinkle with caraway seeds. If you are making a round- make a slash with a knife about an inch deep. If you are baking a loaf- your top will split (I’m ok with that, if you aren’t- there are slashing techniques to prevent that).
8. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool before slicing.