Lemon Rosemary Gruyere Artisan Bread

I finally made it!! Only a day late this week :) That's okay, I'll cheat and schedule it for yesterday. I'm tricky like that! Oh, if you'd like step-by-step pictures, check out the link to Simply So Good below. I forgot to take pictures all the way through, and hers are gorgeous. The ones showing how the dough should look were extremely helpful. Not to mention she has tons of great variations of this bread! I'm trying Cranberry Orange Almond next!

Lemon Rosemary Gruyere Artisan Bread (adapted slightly from Simply So Good)
Printable Recipe

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2-3 Tb chopped fresh rosemary
2-3 Tb lemon zest
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 1/2-2 cups water (I needed 2, start with 1 1/2)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Stir in the rosemary, zest, and cheese until well-coated and distributed. Add water and mix until a wet, shaggy dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 14 - 20 hours. (Overnight works great. Don't worry if it sits a few more hours, this batch sat for 21!)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Once the oven is preheated, place a Dutch Oven in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. (You can also use a baking pan or stone with a large oven safe bowl upended over, or a large casserole dish, pretty much anything that is safe at that high heat and makes a covered container for the bread)

Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. (It will be a very, very loose dough, full of bubbles. Gently shape it into a roundish shape, don't knead or manhandle the poor dough!) Place the rounded dough onto a sheet of parchement paper and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit while the pot heats. Remove hot pot from the oven (Be really really careful!! That thing is screaming hot. No burns, people!!) and use the parchment as a sling to lift the dough into the pot. So it is now sitting in a parchment "cup" in your pot. No greasing necessary. Cover and return to oven for 25-30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. (You can just do this for a few minutes if your bread is already well browned. Just keep an eye on it) Carefully remove pot from oven, use parchment to lift bread out, and let cool on a wire rack. If you can wait, let it cool completely. It will turn out a tad gummy if you cut into it early, but it's up to you!

Oh my heavens, isn't that a gorgeous crust?? I love how these no-knead artisan breads just look amazing, with no help!!

A fabulous, slightly chewy, warm crusty bread, scented with lemon, pockets of salty Gruyere, and sharp rosemary...

The Geologist and my Stephen are in love. Stephen wanted to just eat bread for dinner! Truly a winning combination. And trust me, once you do this kind of bread once or twice, and get a feel for the way the dough is supposed to look and develop, it truly is as simple as can be!!