My bread obsession

I admit I have a mild obsession with Artisan bread.

These are the pans that I normally make it in.

 Then I read a post on how to make it in a crock pot.

Imagine that, Bread in a Crock Pot...

 So I tried it.

 First you cut parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the crock pot.

Then place the ball of dough that you already let sit for the 12 plus hours to do it's thing.

 The original recipe said to cook it/bake it on High for @ 1 hour. I did the first hour then would check the loaf by gently touching it. It seemed "not ready" to me. Like it was still too doughy.

So I would set my timer for 15 minutes then another 15 then 10 then...?

So I am assuming for my first try it ended closer to 2 hours to bake on high.

 At least in my crock pot.

This is the loaf after it was done in the crock pot.

Notice how it is still white.

Next step is to brown the top (if you choose too. I would suggest it)

 The original recipe said to put it under the broiler for 10 minutes.

My mistake was to walk away from the oven. I wish I would have watched it because 10 minutes ruined everything. It burned it :(

No real big worries. A trick I learned from my childhood or was it newlywed days?

I scrapped the burn off the crust.

So it would probably have looked A LOT better if I had browned it properly.

But, hey, IT WORKED!

As long as I was putting together a batch of Artisan bread, why not do more. So I made one in the crock pot and 2 in the oven.

As long as the oven is heating up the house, might as well get 2 done at a time.

The one on the left is: Zest and Juice of one Orange, Cranraisins, and chopped up Almonds.

The one on the Right is: grated Parmesan cheese and dehydrated onions.

 Here are all 3 loaves together.

 I feel so bad that I burned the top one. But it was still yummy inside.

 Here is a trick I learned.

You know how once you slice the bread, the end that is cut dries out if it isn't put into a bag. Then if you put it in a bag it makes the bread soft. Which for some people is no big deal. Soft bread is good. It's just that to me, Artisan bread is to be crusty.

SO, as you can see, I placed them on their side after they were sliced. It worked. It kept the sliced side perfect, and not dried out. If you don't finish the bread in one sitting then you can place a light cloth over it and it will be fine the next day.

The bread really is best when devoured in the first or second day however.

We had to test each loaf to be able to critique them. Notice how the one on the right was our favorite (orange,cranraisin, almond)

In case you forgot...

3 cups of flour
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cup water
(check out previous post on the how to of the bread if you have forgotten.
 http://www.providentpatty.blogspot.com/search/label/Artisan%20Bread
http://www.providentpatty.blogspot.com/search/label/Bread

Now go mix up a creation of your own and Share it with someone. In fact I will post a challenge for you all in my next post.