adidab: all day i dream about bread

before we had a baby, we had bread-day mondays. i went through this period where i made bread almost every monday, because it was my day off, and it seemed like the right thing to do. when i started making no-knead bread, there was a little more planning involved because bread-day mondays needed to start on sunday. i don't remember exactly when it stopped, but i know when i got pregnant, i didn't feel like doing a whole lot. and then when we had the baby, i just didn't have time to do a whole lot. now that the little man is, well, a little man, i think we need to reinstate our bread-day. except my day off is now wednesday. but i think i'll be able to adjust. 


to kick it off, i made roasted garlic and cheese pot bread. and it was delicious. amazingly crunchy and chewy crust. it made me remember why i used to do this every week. and it made me want to do it more than once a week now. the recipe was adapted from baggett's kneadlessly simple book.

Roasted Garlic and Cheese Pot Bread
1 large head garlic
1 tbs EVOO
1/4 c + cheese (i used an italian mix)
4 c AP or bread flour (i used half and half)
2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 c ice water


cut the top off and roast the garlic with the EVOO in a small bowl covered with foil (at 350 degrees for 45 minutes). let cool, then squeeze the cloves out of the paper and mash together with the cheese to make a paste.

mix together the flour, salt, and yeast, then add in the water and garlic paste and mix until blended. add more flour as needed to keep the dough stiff. it will still be sticky, which seems wrong, but don't worry...it'll all work out in the end. spray dough with EVOO and cover with plastic wrap. (if you have time, refrigerate for 3-10 hours) let rise at room temp for 12-18 hours. 

with an oiled spatula, lift and fold the dough into the center without over-deflating. spray with EVOO and cover to let rise for another 2 hours. 

preheat the oven to 450, and oil the inside of a 4 quart dutch oven (i used the oil that i roasted the garlic in...garlicky oil...mmm). preheat the dutch oven, then loosen the dough from the bowl with a greased spatula, and drop into the dutch oven. brush the top of the dough with water, and sprinkle on a little more cheese. reduce the heat to 425, and bake covered on the lower rack for 45-50 minutes. if golden brown, bake covered for another 10 minutes until a skewer comes out pretty clean. if not golden brown, bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. cool in the pot for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a cooling rack.