I’ve been meaning to get back into bread baking for quite some time now.
For a while, I was on a streak of making my own baguettes and bagels on a monthly basis, freezing the dough, and baking them when the mood struck. But for pretty much all the regular reasons (work, life, laziness, wedding season, and delicious local bakeries) that habit fell to the wayside for the last six months.
Then I remembered just how good fresh bread smells when you pull it out of the oven, how much it fills up your home with anticipation. But don’t be intimidated. Sure, there are masterful ways to make breads, and then there is this beginner’s version.
You don’t have to understand how to properly knead dough to develop gluten—as this recipe requires no kneading. You don’t need to be a yeast expert to know when you’ve got the right rise—this recipe uses a minimal amount of yeast and relies on an time, almost 16 hours of it, to do it’s thing.
All you really need is bread flour, salt, water, yeast and a dutch oven.
I recommend starting this dough out on a Saturday evening before dinner. Then go spend some time doing something enjoyable, and on Sunday morning, when you wake up, you can finish it up and enjoy yourself a fresh loaf of bread. And you can keep enjoying it throughout the week.
Not that anyone needs ideas for what to do with delicious bread, but I thought I’d share what we’ve been dipping it into lately. There’s been the Wisconsin winter stew—an appropriate dish to celebrate the first flurry of the year (which thankfully melted before it even hit the ground). There’s this shakshuka dish, which is a wonderful vegetarian option on a cold fall night. Or maybe a tomato bisque or a harissa spiced corn and sweet potato soup will do the trick. Oh and sandwiches. Don’t forget to use this bread for your lunch.
One note: before baking, make sure to check the temperature tolerance of your dutch oven’s knob, as not all are created equal. You should be able to Google the manufacturer’s instructions and see if the lid can be placed in a 425 degree oven. If not, you can remove the knob or else just use foil for cover.
- 6 cups bread flour
- ½ teaspoon active-dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 2⅔-3 cups room temperature water
- In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add water, ⅓ cup at a time, and mix together until a sticky, homogenous dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dry place for 12-16 hours. The dough is ready when it has almost doubled in size, you can smell the yeast, and can see some bubbles formed on the surface.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour, then fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Tuck the seams in to form a smooth ball.
- Dust a clean cotton dish towel with a generous amount of flour and place dough in the center. Wrap the edges of the towel around the dough, leaving some breathing room, and place in a warm, dry place for 2 hours.
- After 1½ hours have passed, preheat your oven to 425. Place a 6-8 quart dutch oven into the oven as it heats for half an hour.
- When the dough has reached the 2 hour mark, remove your pot from the oven. Flip the dough into the dutch oven so it lands seam side up.
- Cover the pot with the lid (please make sure to check that the knob is oven-safe at this temperature) and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove lid and check to make sure that dough has risen and a crust has started to form. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the crust is a nice golden brown.
- Remove bread from the pot and let it cool before slicing.
Recipe adapted from My Bread.
[…] Eve Eve dinner with Jason’s family, we made a full TIMT menu: a simple green salad, no knead bread, tomato bisque, trout with braised turnips and swiss chard, Harissa carrots, and Russian honey […]
writes Dijon Chickpea Fritters with Harissa Aioli[…] somewhere in the middle of the spectrum – not a beginner bread (for that, check out this no knead recipe) but certainly far from […]
writes Swedish Rye BreadA friend of mine recommended that I try making this bread in my traditional Dutch oven. Thanks for taking the time to post the recipe! I’m a true beginner cooking with my Dutch oven!
writes Andrew @ Dutch Oven For BeginnersJeez louise that made a giant loaf of bread. My go 4 cups flour or even 3 next time! But looks and tastes fabulous
writes kregg_the_leg3alumina
writes 2drought