Broiled White Free-Form Loaf

Name: Broiled White Free-Form Loaf
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 135 min
Ingredients: 2 packages active dry yeast; ¾ cup warm water (100 to 115 degrees, approximately); 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 Tbsp. coarse salt; 3 Tbsp. olive (vegetable, or peanut oil); ½ cup buttermilk; Cornmeal; 1 egg white (beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

November 10, 2018 by Savoring Italy

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“This was a mistake that proved to be extremely interesting.” James Beard, Beard on Bread.

I’m all about baking and learning from my mistakes. I’ve even posted about some mistakes and I tend to find mistakes in my baking to be a fun challenge. This Broiled White Free-Form Loaf happened as a mistake for James Beard and I thought I would give it a try!

Sometimes those bread baking mistakes are not that much fun! It occasionally happens to me when I’m baking homemade bread. A fumble here, a slight veer in the wrong direction there. In the end, there bread results turn out not so disastrous as I imagined they would. I may be frustrated because the process wasn’t as easy as I had hoped it would be, but I keep going with hopes of sharing my results and maybe even inspiring a baker or two to even try the recipe and to not be afraid of yeast. People…yeast is not that scary. I promise. It isn’t.

And this bread is not scary. At all! Have you ever set the oven to broil instead of bake? Honestly? Come on…tell me the truth! I will be totally honest and reveal that I have. But my results were not as glorious as James Beard’s Broiled White Free Form Loaf. Thanks to his mistake, you could make this same bread.

Here is how James Beard arrived with this recipe: “I was testing another version of the free-form loaf, turned the oven to 375° without my glasses on, and placed the loaf in the oven. I thought it was browning magnificently and then discovered I had turned the oven to “broil”. I immediately switched it to “bake”, but by this time I had a beautifully brown, crisp top crust and the loaf had risen. In the end the loaf tasted absolutely wonderful, and the upper crust was superb.”

That description is what propelled me to make this bread ASAP! Maybe you’ll attempt it this weekend or even for the holidays. Maybe you’ll bake your first yeast bread and no longer be afraid of yeast. Or maybe this is your 100th loaf and it’s a different way than you usually bake your bread. The point is, baking bread is therapeutic. And with all that is happening in the world and in our personal lives, spending a 1/2 day dedicated to the production of a gorgeous loaf of bread is maybe what we all could use.

If you’re new to baking and want to make your own white bread, this is a great recipe to start off with!

HOW DO YOU MAKE HOMEMADE WHITE BREAD?
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Add the flour, salt, oil.
3. Mix together with dough hook, or by hand.
4. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes.
5. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and let rise.
6. Punch dough down.
7. Place on prepped baking sheet, cover and let rise until doubled in size.
8. Broil at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, then switch to “bake” for 25 minutes until golden brown, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles.

What exactly is proofing yeast? It’s when you dissolve the yeast in warm water to make sure it is active and that it will work to make your bread rise.

HOW TO PROOF YEAST?
1. Let the yeast and water sit for a few minutes.
2. The water will dissolve the dry coating around the granules of the yeast, releasing the active yeast inside.
3. It takes about 10 minutes to really have the yeast bloom.
4. Some recipes ask for a pinch of a sugar to be added to the yeast and water. James Beard doesn’t mention using sugar in this bread recipe.

So back to this recipe. I had to try it Jim Beard’s baking mishap that he described as “absolutely wonderful”. This book is from 1973. I think that Jim Beard’s broiled and baked loaf is practically the same crust and crumb as this no-knead bread I shared (and LOVE).

A perfect loaf of white bread. A simple loaf, and it doesn’t require a mixer to put it together. You can shape it free-form into a mound and place on your baking sheet. So here it is, a basic loaf from a quintessential food lover. I should’ve waited a bit longer to slice my loaf. Impossible. Absolutely impossible to wait! You know the story: everyone was lined up awaiting their slice and then they ended up cutting chunks of it. Cheese and olives were paired with this fabulous bread.

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” I couldn’t agree more with James Beard.

*updated post from Jan 2014

The #TwelveLoaves bakers have decided to ring in 2014 with a new loaf that is simple: Keep it Simple is our theme. Simple meaning laid-back in technique or even simple in the ingredients. I was checking out my Beard on Bread book from James Beard and kept going back to his Broiled White Free-Form Loaf.

#TwelveLoaves January – Keep it Simple! We enjoyed a delicious month of December with our Holiday Breads. January #TwelveLoaves is here and we are going to Keep it Simple! Choose a recipe that is not overly complicated, whether in technique or ingredients. Share your January Keep it Simple Bread (yeast or quick bread). Let’s get baking!

Have a look at what the other talented bread bakers have made:

Broiled White Free-Form Loaf by Lora at Savoring Italy
Buttermilk Honey Bread by Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee
Country Boule with Spelt and Sourdough by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Crumpets by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
No Knead Bread from Holly at A Baker’s House
No-Knead Christmas Pudding Cinnamon Rolls by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
Pumpkin Bread by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom
Soda Bread by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
Sour Cream Drop Biscuits by Renee at Magnolia Days
Sweet Potato Fry Bread by Anne at From My Sweet Heart
Victorian Milk Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
Whole Wheat and Molasses Quick Bread by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

#TwelveLoaves was a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Savoring Italy.

I should’ve waited a bit longer to slice my loaf. Impossible. Absolutely impossible to wait! You know the story: everyone was lined up awaiting their slice and then they ended up cutting chunks of it. Cheese and olives were paired with this fabulous bread.

What struck me as sort of funny is that a few weeks ago I was baking a banana bread and accidentally turned the oven to roast. I couldn’t figure out why the bread smelled, well, like it was roasting. It had a cinnamon streusel topping and let me tell you, roasted cinnamon streusel topping lingers in the house for hours! Luckily, I rescued the bread in the nick of time and so yes, the top was roasted. But, hey! It was not too bad with coffee!

I am sharing this bread with Yeastspotting

This is the book where I got the recipe: Beard on Bread. It has 100 super recipes. For a novice baker, this could be the only book you’ll need to begin with!

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