We have been searching high and low here in Southern Oregon for some good bread and have not found any that are not loaded with high-fructose corn syrup or sugar (what is with that anyway!) I found this recipe on Reddit and it sounded so easy, I had to try it. I made some last night and it turned out great; nice crispy crust and soft crumb structure with a nice amount of holes.
Here is the link to the Reddit article with a quick video.
Here is a link to a YouTube video with a longer, more detailed description.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour, bread or all-purpose
2 teaspoons instant yeast, 1 package
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water, 130 degrees F
1 1/2 tablespoons flour, for dusting board
Method:
1. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable.
2. Cover with cling wrap or a plate. Leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume and it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly. If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer, such as the oven turned off but with the light on.
3. At this stage, you can either bake immediately (next step) or refrigerate for up to 3 days. I usually bake immediately, or refrigerate overnight then bake in the morning.
4. Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (10″ or larger). Preheat to 450°F 30 minutes prior to baking.
5. Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with ½ tbsp flour.
6. Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
7. Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don’t get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
8. if you refrigerated dough per step 3, leave it on the counter for 20 minutes while the oven is preheating.
9. Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
10. Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
11. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
