Crusty, Warm and Tasty

This past week I had Moussaka on the menu. Every time I've made this lovely recipe, I've wanted some nice crusty bread to go with it, but I always forget to get something together until it is too late. Well, this week, I moved around my menu so that I could make Pain a l'ancienne from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I don't think I've ever made a better choice.


Are you drooling yet? This bread fit every one of my ideals for a "nice, crusty bread" and it went perfectly with dinner.

And even better than that? It was actually easy. And I mean easy. Usually, I have a lot of trouble shaping my breads before baking them. But this bread requires no shaping. You cut a strip of dough and then stretch it out. No rolling. No pinching. No perfect shape required. All you have to do is follow Peter's detailed instructions (read them a few times before you begin to make sure you understand them) and the result is fabulous.

Side note: I did end up letting my dough "wake up" for about 5 hours, rather than the suggested 2-3, after taking it out of the refrigerator. Because of the way that my mixer works, I think I ended up putting a little too much water in the dough, and I think that may have affected my raising time.