Easy Country Bread

I originally found  this recipe here http://www.alexandracooks.com but the link didn't work once and I thought I'd lost it so I recorded it here for posterity.

It's really an easy bread to make. No kneading required!

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar 
• 2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
• room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons for buttering the bowls

Take 1/2 cup boiling water and add 1  1/2 cups cold.  That will give you the right temperature for lukewarm water. Add the sugar and dissolve, then sprinkle the yeast over top. Don't stir.  Let stand 15 minutes then, once foamy, mix in the flour and salt.

Once well mixed turn your oven on (to any temperature) for 1 minute.  Then turn it OFF.  That will make it a warm enough place to rise your dough. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and set in the oven for 2 hours to rise. Then gently punch down. 

Take the bowl and separate the dough in half (ish).  It's a little tricky because the dough is sticky. Using 2 spoons could help. Plop each ball of dough into a buttered Pyrex bowl. I used the 1.5L and 2.5L sized bowls. Let the dough rise another 30-40 minutes.  No need to cover it this time or put in the oven just make sure it's not in a draft.

Once the second rise is done bake at 425 F for 15 minutes

then reduce the heat to 375 F and bake an additional 15 minutes.

If they don't pop right out of the bowl when you turn them over simply run a thin knife down the side and out it comes.

The texture is so light and springy and just waiting for butter!