Homemade Bread Recipe

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a while, it's now our go-to bread recipe that I use almost every week.  I usually have some dough in the fridge that can easily be made into a quick artisan loaf, pizza dough or naan depending on what we are having for dinner.  One our my (our) goals for 2012 was to bake our own bread so after successfully using the recipe for almost a year, I think it's time to share!

The technique for the recipe and my inspiration came from the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day".  You can find a link here to the basic technique/original recipe.  I highly recommend reading the original technique before jumping in!  If you are expecting a loaf of bread, this is not it but it is a delicious  

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 T granulated yeast
3/4 T sea salt
1/2 cups spelt flour (if don't have spelt, just use whole wheat)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
Cornmeal mixed with onion and garlic powder for shaping dough and pan

Mixing the Dough:
Add water, yeast and salt in 5 qt. mixing bowl and mix (I use my KitchenAid stand mixer with the regular flat paddle attachment)

Add in flour, 1/2 cup at a time until all combined

Cover loosely (NEVER put in airtight container-the gasses could cause an explosion).  Leave at room temperature for 2 hours or until dough rises and top flattens.

Leave loosely covered (I use an inverted plate) and refrigerate.  Dough is good up to 2 weeks.

To bake bread:
Preheat oven to 425F.  Place a broiler tray or pan full of water on bottom rack of oven.

Take out desired size ball of dough, use cornmeal mix to shape into a ball and continue to form ball by tucking under ends of dough.  Place dough on cornmeal coated baking surface (I use a baking stone or sheet pan with a SilPat mat).

Let rise 20 minutes and then slash top using cross or tick-tack-toe pattern.

Bake bread for about 30 minutes or until crust is browned and firm.  (I usually pick up my loaf and check out the bottom to make sure it's done and not doughy on the inside).

Refrigerate remaining dough until ready to use.