Over the past year we have experimented a lot with baking our own bread. Jeremiah has perfected a sandwich loaf modified from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion; this has become our fall back bread: tasty, easy, not a huge time commitment (about 2.5-3 hours), but it still takes that couple hours of paying attention and being available. Other favorites in the house are the King Arthur Flour challah which Eleanor would eat for every meal if she had the opportunity (challah with butter, challah with jam, challah with cheese melted on it, challah PB&J….), but again, it takes time and attention.

Last night, after Eleanor was asleep, it was obvious we were going to need more bread for today, but I did not have the energy to stay up for the duration of a bake. I turned to google and searched for a no-knead bread recipe. I’ve used no-knead recipes in the past and the bread tends to be fairly crunchy and flat, which is problematic for the 4-year old who doesn’t like crust. It occurred to me that we have a lovely red dutch oven that might help the situation, leading to the recipe I used.

We enjoyed the bread with breakfast this morning, topped with butter for some, and maple cream for others. It was delicious and light, and a hit even with the picky 4-year old.

If you need maple syrup to sweeten your kitchen, email me!

Happy baking!

Kate

 

 

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)

Instructions:

  • In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt and yeast until well mixed. Pour in warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir until a shaggy dough forms. The mixture will be sweet and very sticky.
  • Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 8-18 hours until dough rises, bubbles and flattens on top (and you happen to be ready to bake it).
  • Heat oven to 450 degrees F with the 6-qt dutch oven in the oven for at least 30 minutes before baking.
  • Punch down the dough. Generously flour a piece of parchment paper and transfer the dough to the parchment with floured hands. Quickly shape the dough into a ball, place the ball on the parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with flour. Top with a sheet of plastic wrap (I reused the one from overnight). Let dough rest for 30 minutes while the dutch oven is heating.
  • Remove the dutch oven from the heated oven. Uncover the dough and transfer to the dutch oven with the parchment paper (if you have an enamel lined dutch oven you do not have to keep the parchment). Cover the dutch oven and return to the heated oven.
  • Bake bread for 40-45 minutes with the cover on, to an internal temp of 190 degrees F. If you prefer crunchier crust, you can bake with the cover off for 5-10 min.
  • Cool slightly before slicing and serving.