Dutch Oven Artisan Bread

I have a love/hate affair with my Dutch Oven at the moment. I know I posted about the wonders of Dutch Ovens a little while ago, and that all still holds true! It's just mine. I need a new one. I went for cheap, which was totally worth it, but after 2 years... it's all brown on the inside and cracking chunks of ceramic off the outside. Recommendation: Avoid Tramontina if you care how your Dutch Oven looks. I picked it after reading Cooks Illustrated reviews, it was much cheaper than the classic Le Creuset. I will say it still does it's job flawlessly, I'm just not a fan of its appearance over time. Anyway!! I'm still trying to convince you all to go get one. I've heard great things about the ones from Costco! Maybe I'm just mean to mine...

Reason #2 to get a Dutch Oven: Dead easy, no-knead, 4 ingredient, fabulous Artisan Bread!! Yes, I said no-knead. This is the easiest bread you will EVER make!! And: it's perfect.

Dutch Oven Artisan Bread (adapted slightly from Frugal Living NW)
Printable Recipe

6 cups bread (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 tsp instant or active-dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups cool water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir together until all the ingredients are well mixed; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. (Start it the afternoon/night before you want to bake it.) When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.

Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Dump dough out on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. (It will be very sticky and stringy) Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.

*Updated* Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour, and place the dough seam side down on the paper. and dust with a bit more more flour. Cover with a clean cotton dishtowel and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425-450 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart Dutch Oven (or 6-8 quart heavy covered oven-safe pot) in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Take the towel off the dough, and use the parchment as a sling to lower the dough into the Dutch Oven. (The parchment will stay in the Dutch Oven. This is much easier than the towel-flipping method!)

Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes. Uncover and continue baking about 5-10 more minutes, until a deep chestnut brown. (The internal temp of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if you're worried. I didn't bother :)

Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. (Till it stops making fabulous crackly sounds) Note: This recipe makes a HUGE loaf. We're lucky we had missionaries over! Next time I think I would half the recipe, it's best eaten on the first day. Warm leftovers in the oven or microwave for a bit to soften it up a little.

Voila! The easiest, most perfectest bread ever. And it practically made itself! You can make cuts in the dough before you bake it if you want it even more perfect looking, but I like this crust.

It's light and fluffy, with the tiniest bit of an almost-sourdough-tang. You can play with it and add herbs, or cheeses, or brush some olive oil over the top... I haven't tried this yet, but you bet I'm going to!! I'm thinking rosemary Parmesan...

Mine turned out just an itty-bit gummy, but that's because I was much too impatient, and cut into it before it completely cooled. I thought it was because I forgot the extra two-hour rising time, but have discovered that if you are in a hurry, you can easily skip that!

That crackly golden crust is absolutely my favorite part. Joe didn't like it, the rest of us adored it!! Smear it with butter and send yourself to fresh-baked-bread Heaven. 

So, have I convinced you to get a Dutch Oven yet? No? Well, I have a few more up my sleeve, just you wait and see!

**UPDATE: Since posting this, I have discovered that there are ways you can substitute, if you don't have a Dutch Oven! (Though I still recommend them whole-heartedly!) You can use any large, oven safe baking dish, or a stainless steel bowl, covered with foil. (If your dish isn't deep, make a foil dome!) I've also heard of people using a baking stone with an oven-safe bowl/dish up-ended over the top. Of course, if you halve the recipe, your dishes wouldn't need to be huge. If there is enough room for the dough to double, you're set!! I hope this helps, I wouldn't want anyone left out!**

Shared at Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits at Stonegable and Foodie Friends Friday

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