Ingredients for Bread

•  4 cups all-purpose flour (do not use bleached all-purpose)
•  2 teaspoons kosher salt
•  2 cups lukewarm water
•  2 teaspoons sugar
•  2 ½ teaspoons active-dry yeast 

For the 2 Glass Bowls:

2 Tablespoons of “room temperature” butter for greasing bowls.

Directions:

In a liquid measuring cup mix 2 cups of luke warm water, with 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, and 2 teaspoons sugar in the liquid measuring cup.  Set aside.

Next in a separate large mixing bowl mix 4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt in a metal bowl and stir with the wooden spoon.  Next add the wet ingredients to the flour and salt mixture. 

Stir gently till the dough starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl creating a moist dough ball.  You can add just a little bit more water as needed till the dough pulls away from the edges.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.

Next preheat the large oven to 350 but immediately setting the timer for one minute.  When timer goes off shut off timer and shut off oven.  You don’t want to overheat the oven it will kill the yeast this is why we only do this for one minute. 

Place the plastic wrap covered metal bowl with dough into oven.  Check back 45 minutes to one hour later to see if the dough has risen up. 

In the mean time generously grease 2 glass oven safe pyrex glass dishes with the room temperature butter.  Greasing the bowls well will make it easy to remove the bread once it is baked.  So grease generously with the butter.

Preheat the small table top oven on the lowest warm setting. 

Remove bowl from oven and remove plastic wrap.

Use 2 small forks to scrap the dough away from the edges of the bowl while scraping and pulling push the dough down in a punching motion towards the center of the dough.  I turn the bowl as I go along.  Repeat all the way around the bowl.

Next using the 2 forks evenly split the dough ball into 2 even portions. 

Place each portion into the greased round glass pyrex dish.

Place both the uncovered glass bowls on top of the small oven to help it rise.  Check back in 35 – 40 minutes.  Dough should rise to the tops of the glass pyrex dishes.

While those are rising preheat the big oven to 425 Degrees. 

When the dough has risen gently place the 2 bowls in the preheated large oven.  Set timer to bake for 15 minutes at the 425.

When timer goes off reduce the oven heat to 375º and set timer for 15 to 17 minutes longer until brown.

Remove bowls from the oven and immediately turn the loaves onto cooling racks or bread board. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. Sometimes I use a Metal spoon to help loosen the bread from the bowl if needed.

If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks you can place the bread loaves back into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.