Baked Brown Rice
 

Basic Recipe:
2 cups long-, medium- or short-grain brown rice
2-1/3 cups water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 375 F and move a rack to the middle position.
Spread the rice into an 8-inch square, glass baking dish.
In a covered saucepan on the stove, bring the water and butter or oil to a boil over high heat.
Once it begins to boil, stir in the salt and pour over the rice and cover the baking dish tightly with a double layer of foil or tight fitting lid.
Bake for one hour, until tender. Remove from the oven and uncover.
Fluff the rice with a fork, cover with a clean kitchen towel; let rice stand 5 minutes.
Uncover for another 5 minutes, then serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6.

Sometimes I slightly brown the rice in the oil and add sauteed mushrooms and onions to make a sort of pilaf. Chicken stock works well as a substitute for water.

I'll never cook my brown rice any other way again. It was perfect! I laid 2 bone in skinless chicken breasts on top of the rice, and baked an extra 10 minutes. I used a 4-1/2 Q s/s lidded pan which worked just fine.

Ooh, nifty way to multi-task, Lexxiss! I love this method, and have tossed my rice steamer in lieu of always making rice this way! Sometimes I need to reduce the time a little, or it gets slightly stuck on the bottom--but if that happens, just add a tiny bit of water and reseal the foil around the dish while it sits on the counter to cool a bit. When you go to serve it, it'll be perfect. :D

I really love that Alton Brown... :love:

What is the difference than on the cooktop though? I am confused...

Jenn- I never got my brown rice quite right on the stove. This way it's perfect every single time.

Jenn, for me, the stovetop method takes a watchful eye. If it gets too hot, it sometimes boils over...then I turn it down and it doesn't cook enough. When I follow this recipe, it turns out every time, and I just put in in, set the timer and walk away. BTW, I sometimes put pieces of chicken on top, and they all get done at the same time.

I have actually cooked rice in the microwave covered with saran wrap. LOL. That is a really great walk away method! My oven has a timer but it continues to cook until someone actually punches the "off" button.

Interesting! The only issues I've ever had with it is sometimes sticking if the heat is too high.

Perhaps I will try it this way too! :) Thanks for the new idea ladies (as usual!)...

I'm going to do this. Like some of you, I have trouble cooking brown rice on the stovetop as well. Great recipe!