Amazingly Easy & Delicious Artisan Bread
Ingredients
3 cups flour (bread OR all purpose)
½ tsp yeast (open 1 package and use only ½ teaspoon)
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees or so)
In large bowl, stir together ALL of these ingredients thoroughly. The dough should be “shaggy,” but will become a nice ball of dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 12 – 18 HOURS
Next Day: WITH DUTCH OVEN
If you have parchment paper, cut a piece to fit the bottom of our Dutch oven. If not, you’ll spray it with cooking spray (Pam) after pre-heating the Dutch oven.
Remove plastic wrap from dough. It should be all bubbly and should have grown pretty large.
Lay out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle flour over it. Get some flour on your fingers and sprinkle a little on the dough. Now, pull it together and put it on the floured parchment paper. You don’t have to knead it, but do use your hands to work it into a nice little ball or “package.” Just kind of pull the sides over onto the top so it’s a roundish ball that is smooth. Flatten it a little bit and cover it loosely with plastic wrap to rest.
Now preheat the oven AND the Dutch oven to 450 degrees. After 30 minutes of “resting,” take the Dutch oven OUT of the oven (use potholders!) and lift off the lid. Now, lift up the parchment paper and dough and place it in the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put it back into the 450 degree oven. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and let it bake for 10-20 minutes more. Check to see of it’s the color you like after 10 minutes (deep golden brown) and leave for 10 more minutes if too pale. When done, lift out the loaf and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then slice after cooled.
Next Day: WITH BREAD CLOCHE
Cut and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the cloche. Sprinkle with flour/cornmeal.
With floured fingers, fold the dough over on itself until it is shaped into a nice round ball. This shouldn’t take more than 3-4 folds.
Place the dough on the bottom of the cloche and use a sharp nice to score a cross on the top, not too deep. Put the lid on the cloche and let rise for 1.5 hours at room temperature.
Uncover the dough and brush a little milk over the top and sprinkle with flour. Cover back up.
Put the cloche in a cold oven and turn it to 450 degrees. Bake for 1 hour.
Remove the cloche from the oven, uncover, and let bread cool on the plate for around 30 minutes.
Slice and enjoy!
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