The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake

Bread Challenge Week 14

I’m one of those people that thinks about food all the time. I think about what would taste good together, what would be fun to try, what  sounds yummy and more. I spent quite a lot of time thinking about pairing salmon and pasta with, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, and spinach and feta last week. So I decided to make my pasta daydreams a reality. Obviously I needed some bread to go with it. Obviously.

So I pulled out my new french bread pan and made King Arthur Flour’s The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake to go along with our pasta. Let me just state right out of the gate that while this is a beginner friendly recipe I think it is a little bit of false advertising to call it The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake, it’s not hard but still not the easiest (easier loaves I’ve made in this challenge would be Foccacia, Irish Soda Bread or Oatmeal Batter Bread.)

This bread had a nice slight sour flavor, crispy crust, and soft chewy insides. It was perfect for pasta. The recipe makes 2 pretty large loaves, so we ate on with a few meals and the other is in the freezer waiting for a future meal when I either forget to make something to go with it or don’t have time.

The recipe takes about 25 minutes of hands on time, about 2 hours and 45 minutes of rising time and 25 minutes of baking time. So all in all this recipe isn’t exactly a fast loaf, but it is made of basic ingredients and can be formed without a special loaf pan. The recipe is pretty basic as far as instructions go and it even offers two options for baking. I went with the traditional method as listed in the recipe and added 3 cups of boiling water in a broiling pan to the oven and shortening the bake time of the bread.

The bread was awesome cut into thick slices, with light butter and garlic and then grilled on the grill or straight from the toaster. I think it would work well with toasted for sandwiches but it might be too soft to use otherwise for sandwiches. The bread only keeps for a few days so be sure to use it up quickly. We enjoyed this bread and I think I’ll add it to my rotation of breads that I make as a side.
Flavor: 5
Hands on time: 4
Total time: 2
Recipe: 4
versatility: 3
make it again: 4
Catherine: 1
Luke: 1
Maddy: 1

Total Score: 25
(what is this Bread Challenge and how are recipes scored?)

Previous Bread Challenge reviews and scores:
Hot Cross Buns – Week 13
100% Whole Wheat Bread – Week 12
Thin Wheat Crackers – Week 11
Irish Soda Bread – Week 10
Double Blueberry Muffins – Week 9
Oatmeal Batter Bread – Week 8
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls – Week 7
Cheesy Pretzels – Week 6
Light Rye Bread – Week 5
Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita – Week 4
Carrot Raisin Quick Bread – Week 3
Potato Bread – Week 2
Focaccia – Week 1