More Bread That's Easier Than You Thought It Could Ever Be: The Motherdough

How does this sound: in your fridge, a never-ending loaf of bread (or a pizza). Just feed it once a day, and at will, fish out a fistful or a great lump and...just bake it. No kneading to speak of, no waiting beyond the time to heat the oven. Yes, it's a true rival to Dinkelbrot for the easiest bread ever (or pizza).

I got this idea from Alex Rushmer on Just Cook It who has done this, using ideas from the folks at "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day".

The idea is basically that you create a dough - very similar to that for the Jim Lahey/Mark Bittman/Sullivan Street No Knead bread familiar to many - but rather than using the whole thing to make a single loaf, it becomes a "motherdough" that you feed, grow and bake at will. This of course is similar to a levain or biga (just throwing those words in for the hardcore bakers), but rather than using it as a base to raise a loaf made with additional flour and yeast, the "motherdough" is the whole thing. The authors of "Artisan" etc - Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François have developed recipes that can be used over two weeks; I have followed Alex's lead and just kept it going, feeding it like a sourdough.

The resulting bread is fairly moist, denser than "No Knead", with a well-developed and pleasantly sour flavour and a terrific crust. And the pizza is terrific.

MOTHERDOUGH
3 cups flour (spelt will work)
1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps dry yeast (or less if desired)

Combine ingredients in a 2 litre container with a tight fitting lid (in Australia, ice cream comes in an ideal plastic tub). Put into the refrigerator. After a day, add one cup of flour and half a cup of water (or less, but in the 2:1 ratio), stir and replace in fridge. The dough is ready after a day and sourness develops gradually and deepens.

To bake, cut or scoop the desired amount and tip onto a well-floured surface. The dough will be quite wet. Knead lightly and shape as desired, prove and then bake in a very hot oven. You can also leave it to prove further as long as overnight (if you use spelt, put the loaf in a tin; it will spread otherwise).

(For the pizza pictured, take a lump of dough, knead on a floured surface briefly. Roll, turning over once or more, using plenty of additional flour, until you have desired shape. Brush with olive oil and rub with a clove of garlic. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and cover with thinly sliced potatoes, then sprinkly sea salt over and bake at 200C/400F for ten minutes).