Begining with bread.....

  Welcome to my brand new and very first blog!  The idea of blogging about what I love to bake has been germinating in my head for a couple of years, and one of my sisters (you know who you are!),who also was born with a love to bake, keeps telling me that I need to write all my recipes down. So, here I go!
   Many people are very intimidated with the thought of baking bread from scratch, and until a few years ago I was one of them.  My New Years resolution that year was to conquer my fear of baking with yeast!  I started by calling up my mother, who makes amazing bread, and getting an easy recipe from her.  My first loaf was a very yummy cinnamon swirl bread that I still make regularly for breakfast for my kids.  I will share that recipe later.  Today's recipe is for a bread that looks a little fancier and tastes amazing dipped in olive oil, but is about as easy as it gets when it comes to making it.  You don't even have to knead!!!  I originally found the recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine, but I adjusted it for a "regular" kitchen.  And if you have never tried bread with olive oil instead of butter, you must try it (and I am a huge fan of butter!).  Pour a some oil on a small plate, and sprinkle in your choice of black pepper, balsamic vinegar and/or parmesan cheese, then dip away!  Most of my children even enjoy this!

                                   Pane Integrale (Whole Wheat Bread)

2 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour ( use whole white wheat if you can find it)
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 cups cool water
In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients.  Add the water and mix well.  A fork works really good for this step.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours.  The dough should double in volume and the surface will be dotted with little bubbles.  Spray your baking pan with non-stick spray. I recomend a glass or stone pan, but I'm sure metal will work too.  Sometimes I use a loaf shaped pan and sometimes I use a round.  Just make sure that it is big enough for you bread to grow!  Use a silicone spatula to scrape the dough into the pan.  The dough has a hard time sticking to silicone.  Cover dough again and let it rise for another 1-2 hours.  Then bake it at 475 for 45-50 minutes.  The crust of the bread will get VERY dark, but it needs to bake for the full amount of time to be done in the middle.  Remove it from the pan soon after baking and let it cool a little.  Use a very sharp serrated knife to slice and enjoy!  The crust will get a little softer and easier to cut if you store it in a plastic bag until the next day.   So even though this bread does have to be started a day early, it is still very easy and well worth it!