This recipe provides a simple method for making delicious artisan bread with minimal effort, primarily requiring time for a long, slow rise. It involves mixing basic ingredients, letting the dough rest for many hours, then baking it in a preheated dutch oven to achieve a sweet interior and a perfect, crispy crust. The resulting versatile loaf is ideal for any meal, from breakfast to dinner.
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Serves:
1 loaf
Prep time:
15 minutes
Cook time:
45 minutes
Recipe Category
Cuisine
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose or bread flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups cold water
Must have a dutch oven!
Instructions
Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl until the dough is a bit sticky and forms a ball. No kneading required.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit for 12-18 hours.
Sprinkle flour on a kitchen or bread towel. Gently place the dough (top dry part face down) onto the towel. Push the sides together into a ball if needed. Sprinkle more flour on top. Fold the towel over it and let it sit for 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 475°F with a dutch oven inside. Once preheated, carefully remove the dutch oven, place the dough inside, put the lid on, and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid from the dutch oven and bake for another 15 minutes at the same temperature.
Let the bread cool for at least 30 minutes before eating.
Letting the dough rise for such a long time allows the yeast to do its work resulting in long strands of gluten in the dough and a sweeter bread. It also means the dough requires less yeast than conventional methods and no sugar.
Using the dutch oven allows us to bake it at a high temperature without burning the bread or letting too much water escape!
The last 15 minutes of baking without the top is to allow the delicious crust to form.