Lisa's Artisan Bread

Hmm - this blogging thing is new to me.  I'm trying to figure out format, fonts, postings, etc.  Day 2 - another learning day!

New Year's Day main meal was a hit especially with Dave.  Everyone tried the sour cabbage and the mashed potatoes.  Bri finished the mashed potatoes when she got home from work and had a bite of the lucky cabbage.  It's amazing how no one says anything about it being vegan if you just don't tell them.  I think in the back of their minds they must have known about the mashed potatoes though since I don't use butter or milk/half & half any more.  I just don't make a big deal about it.

Speaking of half & half.  The one thing that really helped me in my new way of eating is this:

So Delicious Coconut Creamer.  I thought not eating meat would be the hardest but it was actually eliminating dairy products until I found the creamer.  Yes, I adore my coffee first thing in the morning so having the coconut creamer is awesome because it is so thick and creamy.  I definitely recommend it to a new plant base people!  I use it in my coffee as well as in the place of milk/cream in recipes.  I also use almond milk too.  I try not to use soy.  Soy is in everything!!!!  But that is a topic for another day.

Today's meals include:

• homemade artisan bread toast with Earth Balance soy free spread
• carrot sticks
• salad - romaine lettuce, baby spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini & leftover balsamic dressing from Panera
• sour cabbage & gravy
• spaghetti, sauce & sauteed mushrooms
• bread

Lunch 

Artisan Bread

6  1/2 cups of flour
1  1/2 T granulated yeast
1  1/2 T sea salt
2  T sugar in the raw
3  cups warm water

Put all the dry ingredients in a very large bowl.  Add the water and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.  Mixture will be very wet but that's okay.  Cover with aluminum foil and let rise in a warm spot at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  With floured hands make dough into two round balls with extra flour.  Place loaves on a stone and cut a few marks into loaves to make air vents for loaves.  Place a pan with 1+ water at the bottom of the oven.  Bake the loaves 25 - 30 minutes.

This is the easiest bread I've ever made and everyone loves it.  I've tweaked the ingredients a tad with the addition of sugar.