Thursday, November 7, 2013

ARTISAN BREAD...EASIEST EVER! (no lie)

I had a really hard time trying to decide what to title this post.  It could have been "I Didn't Sleep At All Last Night" or "The Best Blueberry Jam...Ever!" or "Two Truths and One Lie" (did you ever play that game..so fun!).  But, I went with "Artisan Bread...Easiest Ever" and THAT is the first truth.  It is the easiest bread I've ever made.
I was inspired to make this bread because Karen over at The Feral Turtle made some really good-looking blueberry jam.  Check it out.
Blue Blooded Diva Blueberry Jam
Now I love blueberry jam.  It's my favorite and I told Karen so and that hers looked delicious in the comments on her post.  She emailed me and told me she would send me some.  Was I polite and said, "Oh no! You don't have to do that!" ?  NO.  I replied with my home address immediately because the idea of homemade blueberry jam supersedes all pretense of politeness for me.  (I did thank her profusely.)  
Karen emailed me back about a week later and told me the jam was en route. I told her that I was going to make some of the "No Knead Bread" she had posted on her blog later in the week so that I could try it with her jam when it arrived.  And THAT my friends is the lie.  Now I didn't mean to lie.  My intentions were great.  But I got busy and the jam arrived and I had not made the bread.  
Now let me just say, that Karen didn't just send me a small jar of jam like you see in her picture above.  Oh no.  She sent me a BIG jar of it as well as some very wonderful hand cream AND a bar of foot rub, all homemade and all blueberry scented!  I didn't waste a second.  I opened up that blueberry jam and stuck a large spoon in it and shoved it in my mouth.  Heaven!  Best blueberry jam EVER!  And THAT is the second truth!  Thank you so much Karen!
So...back to that awesomely easy bread and my lie.  So that jam arrived, I needed homemade bread and I needed it STAT!  I did not have the wheat bran nor the cornmeal called for in her recipe.  Damn.  I jumped on the computer and googled some bread recipes and found this recipe called "How to Make Easy, Fast, Foolproof Bread From Scratch".  I was intrigued.  This was a make-it-all-in-one-plastic-Rubbermaid-style-container, no-knead, store-it-in-the-fridge, pull-out-whatever-you-want-and throw-it-in-the-pan, artisan-style bread that goes together in 20 minutes and bakes in 30 minutes and looked too good to be true.  Which meant I had to try it.  I made it last night and put it in the fridge to do it's thing.  Then I couldn't sleep.  So, at 2 o'clock in the morning, I made a loaf of bread.
Uh-huh!  Everything this recipe claimed was true. Everything.  It was the easiest bread I've ever made and there was a time when I made bread every week, because I'm not a fan of calcium propianate and you shouldn't be either.  But......
yep, there was no way I was putting that precious blueberry jam on store-bought bread.  Oh, and I use real butter too!
Did you notice my funky-looking butter container?  Want to have soft, room temperature butter year-round?  Get yourself a French Butter Bell.
It's an amazing little 2 piece glass container that keeps butter on your counter fresh.  
It's so simple and yet so genius!  The top half is filled with butter.  The bottom has water in it.  Put the top half into the bottom half and you have an instant water seal that protects your butter from air, which is what causes it to spoil.  I've used one for years and have never had butter spoil.  Google "Butter Bell" and you'll find them in all shapes and colors, running from $12.95 to over $40.00.  
Oh, and finally, if you are still with me after this long post...I used 1/3 of the bread dough from that container in my fridge to make that loaf, which means I'll have 2 more loaves ready to bake over the next couple of weeks.  The recipe says it keeps for several weeks in the fridge!  Yumm.  If anyone else wants to send me jam, I'm ready!
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Mellywoods Mansion

31 comments:

  1. Oh God, thank you, Danni, for not choosing the title with "Blueberry jam" in it! I'm salivating over here! This whole thing and the pictures remind me of sweet summer nights from my childhood, when my grandma would make bread and serve it with fatty butter (homemade) and her trademark black cherry jam <3

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  2. Danni,
    Hello There! You have such a cute blog! And, your post made me laugh, thank you! I love to try any and all kind of bread recipes. I just learned last year how to really make a good bread. I love homemade jam!. We make a plum jam, that is just heavenly. I don't think I have ever had blueberry. I think I might have to give that one a try next spring. :)

    Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for the sweet comment, after all that's why we blog, isn't it?
    I hope you give those rellanos and try, you won't regret it if you do!

    Blessings,
    Amy

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  3. Yummy breads are definitely my kryptonite - yet I've never tried to make my own! I've got to pin this one. :)

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  4. Oh, Danni, I can smell the freshly baked bread here. And blueberry jam is one of my favorites. I know I would get up in the middle of the night to bake this.

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  5. ohhhhhh mama! That looks like pure heaven. Karen's such a babe. I love homemade bread, fresh butter and jam. Growing up, my mom did, and still does, left the butter in the pantry which creeps me out a bit. So, I put mine in the fridge. I might think about this contraption...maybe. Too creeped out by the counter butter from my childhood. I have also never had blueberry jam. Thinking I will have to make some. mmmm mmm mmmm!

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  6. Triple yum post! Cool info on the butter bell. What a sweet, kind gift from Karen. And the bread - divine.

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  7. Sounds delectable. You paint a fine smelling picture here.

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  8. Having zero patience for kneading and also a large dose of lazyitis, that sounds like the perfect bread for me to try and make - off to check it out.

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  9. My girlfriend just mad a recipe similar to this last night and said it was amazing!!! Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend;-)

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  10. Yummy Danni!! Your bread looks amazing. So glad you liked the jam. Get hubby on that foot rub as it is sooooo good for his hands. hehe Also my sister bought a butter bell (I didn't know what they were actually called) and she loves it. Going to Google one right now! Cheers my friend

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  11. I have made the artisan bread for years, and I have slightly changed and tweaked the original recipe changing to whole wheat fllour. I love it. It keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, but be aware that the taste of the bread will change slightly according to how long the bread dough was initially made (think sour dough bread). I love it either way

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  12. Make that bread over the next few weeks??? I'm calling you out! I bet it's gone by Sunday night...it would be in my house. It looks delicious and a post with homemade bread, butter and jam is a dangerous thing, Danni.
    I may be up baking all night!

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  13. So So Jealous!!!! The bread looks amazing but I am intrigues by the butter bell I want one stat!

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  14. This post is information overload.. Making that bread IMMEDIATELY. I love the fact that you have it on hand to bake when you need it and I can't believe it's that easy.. but if you say so my friend than I totally trust you. Second, I want a butter bell! So cool.. I hate keeping butter in the fridge. What an awesome thing to have and wouldn't it also make for a fun Christmas present? I think all the ladies in my family would love one. Third, what an awesome thing for Karen to do for you! That's exactly why I love blogging so much. You really do make the best friends.

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  15. Pinning this for later. The bread look amazing!

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  16. You know I like quick and easy breads ! Definitely trying this recipe and I want one of those butter bells ;-) {will google and see if a store in SA sells them}

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  17. That's pretty close to the bread recipe I use and it's pretty much no fail. I have blueberries in the freezer waiting to be made into jam and this is the nudge I needed to get it down! This post is making me hungry!

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  18. How nice of her to send you such a lovely package of goodies. That jam sounds so good I can almost taste it, on your bread, which also sounds too good to be true and too easy to be true. There's just nothing like homemade!!!

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  19. How nice of her to send you such a lovely package of goodies. That jam sounds so good I can almost taste it, on your bread, which also sounds too good to be true and too easy to be true. There's just nothing like homemade!!!

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  20. Nothing better then having homemade jam on homemade bread. It all looks wonderful
    I went on over to The Feral Turtle right away and signed up for her newsletter as well. :}
    Enjoy your day and have a wonderful weekend
    ColleenB.
    Texas

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  21. Hi Danni, I am a total and major bread lover, so this post makes me very happy! :) Thank you for sharing - have a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!

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  22. Looks so good! Bread is dangerous in this house. And bread that is easy? Oh boy!
    Going to check it out now. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Oh my word this is too easy! What size of container did you use to allow it to rise? Not sure I have something that big with a lid to seal it. It looks pretty big in the picture.

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  23. With all that bread yet to be baked thank goodness you received the deluxe size jar of jam! Now if you can just have two more sleepless nights, bread will be done, jam will be gone and I can quit drooling about wanting some.

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  24. Are you not the lucky one? Blueberry jam is the best, but home made bread...I agree, best way to enjoy it. I haven't made bread in ages, I'll have to check out that recipe! Thanks for sharing, Danni!
    Debbie :)

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  25. I don't have the jam, but am intrigued by the bread! Pinning this because I really do need to give it a try. I'm all about white foods these days ... :)

    Linda

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  26. Oh that looks so good! I haven't made bread in years, but this makes me want to give it a try. Blueberry jam is my favourite too! I've never heard of a butter bell, but I have to get one.

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  27. I can taste it right now! When my girls were young I used to bake all my own bread and the smell and taste with fresh butter was fantabulous!! I have seen many butter bells, but never a clear glass one! I love blueberry jam....on homemade bread......with butter......oh my....

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  28. I'd never hear of a butter bell before but now will be on the look out for one. This homemade bread looks delicious and like was laboriously prepared. My people love bread. I definitely need to give this a try.

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  29. Is there anything better than fresh baked bread, real butter and fresh jam? I doubt it. It's the little things that make life sublime. I've never heard of a butter bell either. How ingenious.

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  30. We ONLY use real butter...we also have a butter bell...and I think blueberry jam is one of the most amazing foods on the planet!! I luuurve ho-made bread. This just might be the first food I made in the new house. (If you don't count the frozen pizza I "made" in my new oven...!!!

    -andi

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