Smith Family Weblog

I am always on the lookout for ultra simple recipes for week nights. My friend Lori claims to be in the same boat, but she regularly sends me links to “quick and easy” dishes that have seven different herb and spices alone—plus another 10-12 ingredients. I have no doubt they are fabulous, but at 5:30 pm on Monday, I don’t have the patience. (Unless, of course, there’s wine involved. Or friends. Or friends with wine. If it was LORI with wine, I’d never stop cooking.)

I’ve noticed that if a recipe has more than six ingredients, I’m pretty unlikely to make it on a week night. But this—which I’m not even sure counts as a “recipe”—is truly easy. Roast a butternut squash or two, toss it in the blender with a bit of chicken stock, water and/or milk, add some salt and pepper, and you’re done. With all that extra time on my hands, I sauteed some sage, grabbed some bacon from the freezer, and added a bit of shredded cheese.

If only I hadn’t given away that bread…

When Doug and Karyl were here last weekend, Doug brought along his cookbook, Artisan Bread in Minutes a Day.

I’m familiar with the no-knead process. (For the record, I’m also familiar with plans that involve cooking in other people’s kitchens, but I was pleased—and relieved—to discover Doug is a neater cook than I am.)

I found the promise of “five minutes a day” intriguing—the previous no-knead recipe I’ve used usually has me up at 3:30 am to put it in the oven,  when the inconvenient and rather inflexible 20-hour clock ends.

These recipes, though, require the standard two-hour rising window, and then you can bake the bread immediately, or store the dough in the fridge for up to three days(!).

Doug made these two gorgeous loaves with rye, whole wheat and unbleached white flour.

The bread was smooth and soft, save for the perfectly crusty exterior. I think the pan of water in the bottom of the very hot oven does the trick.

Doug bought me my own copy of the book while he was here, and I put it to use this weekend, making a batch of peasant bread. I was surprised to find the five-minute promise made on the cover is really true. I made one small loaf of walnut sage bread, and liked it enough to make a larger loaf, too.

The only problem with this recipe?

The resulting three or four loaves of bread, which disappear in short order (along with a half stick of butter).

I think that last loaf—and the one yet to be baked—will have to be shared.