Dutch Oven Bread

So I'm still experimenting with this recipe. I've read several different version online, some with extra steps, some with different ingredients. The photo's below respresent the 1st and 2nd time I did this. The first time using all white bread flour, the 2nd time subsituting 1 cup of whole wheat flour for one of the cups of white flour. I must say that while the flavor and texture of the inside of the loaf was great both ways, the whole wheat version didn't develope a nice crunch crust. Don't let the photo fool you. It was beautiful, but not so crispy.

You need a dutch oven for this, as you will be baking the bread inside the dutch oven...INSIDE your regular oven. You will also need time for this. Its very little work, but a lot of waiting. So its best to plot it out.

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour (or combination bread and whole wheat)

1 pack of active dry yeast

1.5 teaspoons salt

1.5 cups warm water

Directions (with my suggested timeline):

Before bed (peferably late, after having a few too many glasses of Pino), dump the yeast packet into the warm water and stir to disolve the yeast, set aside. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. (LARGE bowl people, this dough get's pretty big).  Pour in the water/yeast, and mix with a fork until just combined. Once mixed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and hit the hay.

The next morning (hung over), get up out of bed an dbefore doing anything else (except wash your hands) dump the dough out onto a floured board or counter or whatever, and start bringing it together. It will be super sticky, so I find adding a lot of flour helps.  The 2nd time around I added additional flour at the start of the whole process, but maybe thats why the 2nd time around my crust wasnt crispy.  Anyway, keep attempting to bring it together (not quite kneading it) until you can get a pretty basic ball. Doesn't have to be perfect. Leave the ball there and cover with dampened paper towel for 30minuts-1hour. Then stick the ducth oven in the oven and preheat to 450.

Go shower. Or go back to bed. Whatever.

After an hour, put the dough on some parchment paper, cut some slits in the top (I used a scizzor for this), and (using the parchment as a hammock) drop the whole thing into the dutch oven. So the dutch oven is not lined with parchment and the dough is inside. Put the cover on and stick it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the dutch oven cover and bake for an additional 15-20minutes or until browned.

Let it cool, slide it up and enjoy!

 

Round 1, all white flour.

Round 2, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and a little dried thyme.