Making bread can be intimidating, but this "no knead" bread is simple to make... and it is really delicious. The Dutch Oven is the key to the chewy crust and soft interior. No one will believe that this isn't an artisan loaf of bread from a fancy bakery.
.png)
Cooking this bread in a Dutch Oven is really important. It allows the bread to cook in steam, which gives it the perfect texture. I got mine with points at my local grocery store. But Amazon has some great options with fantastic reviews.
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm (not hot) water
- 1 (8g) envelope of active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 4 cups flour (you can use bread flour... but I use all purpose and it works perfectly)
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to soften and get foamy.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt together.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and pour the yeast mixture into the well. Use a wooden spoon to stir until the dough starts to come together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (If it's too sticky, you can add a bit of flour... and if it is too dry, you can add a bit of water.)
- Grease a large bowl with olive oil, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover it, and leave it in a warm spot until it doubles in size... approx. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Lay out a piece of parchment paper, and dust it with flour. Dump the dough onto the floured parchment paper and form into a loose ball... by gently folding in the edges. Floured hands are helpful in creating the "rough" rustic loaf shape.
- Transfer the dough back to the greased bowl, cover, and let rise for another 30-60 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 470 degrees F. When it's preheated, place the Dutch oven (with lid) in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the Dutch Oven from the oven, and transfer the risen dough into it. (Be careful because the Dutch Oven is going to be extremely hot!)
- Score the top of the loaf by cutting an "X" with a sharp knife... about 1/4 inch deep.
- Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 450 degrees F, remove the lid, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes to create a nicely browned crust.
- Carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least an hour before slicing. (Don't rush this step or you will end up with a gummy interior.)
💗
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
I had received a 7-qt enameled, oval-shaped Remy Olivier Dutch oven this Christmas, but at the same time, my mother was collecting stamps for the Kuhn Rikon promotion. So when we went to the grocery store last December to redeem our stamps, we decided to get the cast iron grill pan instead… We haven’t used the grill pan yet because we’re not entirely sure what to cook with it…!
ReplyDeleteI’m kind of regretting not just buying the Kuhn Rikon Dutch oven now, because as much as I love my Remy Olivier, it’s a bit hard to use on the stovetop due to its large oval shape. (It’s also quite heavy, and when I put it inside the oven, I can only seem to bake lighter things like breads in there; when we tried baking a huge heavy stew, it nearly cracked the oven wire rack, so we ended up having to transfer the stew and bake it in a lighter container… ah well!)
How are you finding the Kuhn Rikon Dutch oven and do you find it kind of heavy? (If I had to estimate, my oval Dutch oven is about 10-15 pounds empty…) We just finished filling up another card full of stamps and are weighing whether we should redeem it… only thing we need now is the storage space hah!