Dutch Oven Bread

So it's been awhile... my healthy eating has been hit and miss and I will warn you right now... the recipe I'm about to share is NOT healthy. I found this recipe on Pinterest (here) and, as per the usual, have tweaked it to make it work for me, and I've had a lot of fun playing around with it. This is a VERY simple and versitile recipe so don't get scared off because its bread.

What You'll Need:

A dutch oven (more on this later)

pizza stone (optional)

Large mixing bowl

Saran wrap

3 C Unbleached flour (I've tried bleached, just trust me)

1 3/4 tsp salt (I use kosher)

1/2 tsp instant/rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 C warm water

mix-ins (more on this later)

I made a "loaf" of cinnamon swirl bread over the weekend so I'll be using those instructions and giving hints about other mix-ins along the way. I will say that the "plain" loafs are pretty good on their own and very good for Panini or soup dipping bread.

First, put the flour, salt, and yeast in your large bowl and mix up the dry ingredients.

Also add your mix-ins. For the cinnamon swirl bread I mixed in 2 cups of cinnamon chips

For you Utah folks. I got these at Baker's Cash'n Carry over by IMC. I've heard that you can get them at Orson Gygy, and occasionally around the holidays I see a Hershey's version. 

Next, add your warm water. It does need to be warm, but you do not want it too hot or you'll just kill your yeast. It happens, I've had loaves that don't rise much, and I've had some that surprise me with how much they rise. Anyways, mix in your water until you get a shaggy dough. Yep, it's supposed to look like that. 

 Cover your bowl with saran wrap and let the dough rise for 12-18 hours. I leave mine on the counter, but I've heard it does well in the fridge too. Make sure you cover the bowl well or your dough will kind of dry out.

This is how mine looked after about 12 hours. It rises quite a bit, and stays very sticky.

So here's the dutch oven info. I have an nice enameled dutch oven that I bake my bread in. It's amazing and I love it. BUT, before I owned this lovely grown up looking thing, I used Steve's camping dutch oven. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Advice, if you are not using an enameled dutch oven, make sure it is WELL seasoned. If it isn't your bread will stick and you will be sad. I usually throw a circle of parchment paper down anyways, especially with the cinnamon bread because I add sugar (keep reading) and I've had the baked sugar stick to even a well seasoned dutch oven. The enameled ovens can be quite expensive, but I've seen them at Walmart for a reasonable price.

   

Moving on. Preheat your conventional oven to 375. The original recipe says 450, but trust me on this one. This is something you can play around with. If your bread is a little darker or lighter than you like it... just experiment. Once your conventional oven is preheated, preheat your dutch oven AND LID for 1/2 an hour. Just stick it in the oven empty and let it heat up. 

While your dutch oven is preheating, time to get your dough ready. The best part, NO KNEADING! Prep your surface with flour... lots of flour. I use this type of mat

Dump out your dough and form it into a round loaf. (Sorry I didn't get pictures of this part... it can be messy). Don't be afraid of the flour... it is your friend! For the cinnamon swirl loaf I flatten out my lump of dough, sprinkle (generously) with cinnamon and sugar, roll up the rough and kind of tuck the ends so it forms a round loaf. Once you have your loaf formed, lightly cover it with either your saran wrap or a flour sack towel to rise while the dutch oven pre-heats. 

Once your oven(s) are ready. Drop your dough into your dutch oven, place the lid, and set the time for 1/2 hour. REMEMBER THE DUTCH OVEN WILL BE VERY HOT. I only remind you because I needed it before I learned my lesson. I usually open up my oven, pull out the rack as far as it will go, carefully place my parchment paper and literally drop my dough in. I also put a pizza stone on the lowest rack. This helps keep the bottom of the loaf from burning. I highly recommend this trick. If you don't have a pizza stone, put the dutch oven on the highest rack you can .

After 1/2 hour, remove the dutch oven lid, and continue baking for another 1/2 hour. It will look amazingly crusty and delicious at this point, but it isn't done just yet. So to be clear, total cook time is 1 hour. 1/2 hour with the lid, 1/2 without. 

I usually pull my loaf out right away to put on a cooling rack. 

TADA! You just made bread. Without a Kitchen Aid, bread maker, or kneading! 

Here's the fun part. This bread is PERFECT for experimenting. You can use all types of mix-ins to go with whatever you want!. Here are some combos I've tried.

Cheese Bread:

Add 2 C of sharp cheddar to your dry ingredients

Breakfast Bread:

3/4 C dried cranberries

zest of 1 orange

1/2 C sliced almonds

add to dry ingredients

Zesty Lemon Bread: (I've never tried this one)

1 1/2C of Gruyere cheese (I did find this at Harmons)

Zest of 1 Lemon

Chopped fresh rosemary

Nut & Seed Bread:

Any combination of your favorite seeds/nuts, use about 2 c total

added to dry ingreditents

White Chocolate Walnut (or Macadamia, or Almond)

1 1/2 C white chocolate chips

1 c nuts

added to dry ingredients

Herb bread:

Any combination of fresh or dried herbs. Remember that dried herbs are about 3x as potent as fresh.

ENJOY! Please let me know of your successful experiments! Also, let me know if you have questions. I've tried to include all of my "learned it the hard way" tips, but I'll answer your questions as best I can.