BY LYNETTE GEORGE

HERALD DEMOCRAT

Scoot over turkey, dressing, gravy and sweet potatoes. No Thanksgiving meal is truly complete without homemade bread.

Growing up, our house always smelled of homemade bread. My mom was an expert at whipping up those mouth-watering, light as a feather yeast rolls. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit that talent. I have, however, found a cookbook that may help remedy that problem -- 200 Fast & Easy Artisan Breads by Judith Fertig.

What really caught my attention, aside from the bread loaves that grace the book's front cover, were the words "no-knead," "one bowl," "fast and easy." That sounded like a winner to me. Inside, the author gives a variety of basic artisan dough recipes that even I can follow, none of which require kneading, just stirring, and can be used right away or refrigerated. With each of these basic recipes comes several other recipes using the basic recipe dough and a few extra ingredients. For example, her "Easy Artisan Dough" can be used for baby baguettes, pita bread, breadsticks, rolls, flatbread, desserts and even soft pretzels. Then, there's whole-grain doughs, granola dough, flavored doughs, gluten-free doughs, buttery yeast dough, bagel dough and others. In addition to all the dough and bread recipes, Fertig has included recipes for bread and pastry fillings such as Danish almond, caramel apple, cinnamon, poppy seed and many more.

At the front of the book, the author gives information on ingredients, equipment needed and basic artisan bread steps. Lots of handy tips are included such as spooning the flour into the measuring cup rather than dipping the measuring cup into the flour container in order to get lighter, airier bread.

The newly-released cookbook, published by Robert Rose Inc., is now available in stores and on-line.

Below is one of Fertig's basic dough recipes, along with one of the many tasty ways to use that dough.

Master Recipe #1 -- Easy Artisan Dough

Makes bread, rolls, pizza or flatbread to serve 12 to 16.

Equipment needed: measuring cups and spoons, instant-read thermometer, 16-cup bowl, wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk, three-sided cookie sheet, flexible cutting board or baker's peel, baking stone, broiler pan

Ingredients

• 6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1-1/2 tablespoon instant or bread machine yeast
• 1-1/2 tablespoon fine table or kosher salt
• 3 cup lukewarm water, about 100 degrees F.
• 1/4 cup cornmeal or polenta for sprinkling
• 2 cups hot water for broiler pan

Measure: Spoon the flour into a measuring cup, level with a knife or your finger, then dump the flour into a large mixing bowl.

Mix: Add the yeast and salt to the flour. Stir together with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Pour in the water and stir together until just moistened. Beat 40 strokes, scraping the bottom and the sides of the bowl, until the dough forms a lumpy, sticky mass.

Rise: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature (72 degrees F) for 2 hours or until the dough has risen near the top of the bowl and has a sponge-like appearance.

Use right away or refrigerate: Use that day or place the dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 9 days before baking.

Tip: Combining 1-1/2 cups hot water with 1-1/2 cups cold tap water will result in lukewarm water approximately 100 degrees F. Before storing the dough in the refrigerator, use a permanent marker to write the date on the plastic wrap, so you'll k now when you made your dough and when to use it up to 9 days later.

Rolls

Makes 4 rolls - large enough to use for sandwiches, burgers, or other fillings

Equipment needed: Three-sided cookie sheet, flexible cutting board or baker's peel, broiler pan, baking stone

Ingredients

• 1/4 recipe of the prepared Easy Artisan Dough, about the size of a softball
• Unbleached, all-purpose or bread flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups hot water

1. Form: Place dough on a floured surface and dust very lightly with flour. Flour your hands. Working the dough as little as possible and adding flour as necessary, form the dough into an 8-inch cylinder. With a dough scraper, slice the cylinder into 2-inch pieces. Pinch the cut ends together. Lightly flour any sticky places on the dough. The dough should feel soft and smooth all over, like a baby's skin, but not at all sticky.

2. Rest. Sprinkle the cornmeal on the cookie sheet. Arrange the rolls in two horizontal lines, 4 inches apart, on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.

3. Prepare oven for artisan baking. About 30 minutes before baking, place the broiler pan on the lower shelf and the baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven. Preheat to 450 degrees F.

4. Slash rolls with serrated knife. Using a serrated knife, make two cross-hatch slashes, about 1/2 inch deep, in the top center of each roll, exposing the moist dough under the surface.

5. Slide rolls onto baking stone and add water to broiler pan. Using an oven mitt, carefully pull the middle rack of the oven out several inches. Hold the cookie sheet level with the rack so that the rolls will slide sideways onto the hot stone. Quick a quick forward jerk of your arms, slide the rolls from the cookie sheet to the stone. If a roll lands too close to another, use a metal spatula to reposition it. Push the middle rack back in place. Pull the lower rack out, pour the hot water into the broiler pan, and push the lower rack back in place. Close the oven door immediately so the steam will envelop the oven.

6. Bake. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of a roll registers at least 190 degrees F. Wearing oven mitts, remove rolls by hand to cool on a wire rack.