Crusty Dutch Oven Bread
How to make this impressive and very easy Crusty Dutch oven bread. Step by step simple instructions from start to finish.
Ingredients
Method
- 400g / 14oz White Bread Flour
- 240g / 240ml Lukewarm Water (40°C / 104°F)
- 15g / 1tbls Butter
- 6g / 1½tsp Instant or Active dried Yeast
- 8g / 1tsp Salt
- 6g / 1tsp Sugar
- Add the sugar to the warm water and stir, once the sugar has dissolved, add the yeast and stir it in thoroughly, set it aside until it activates.
- Once activated, add the yeast mixture to your stand mixer bowl.
- Place the rest of the bread ingredients into your mixer bowl, and using the dough hook, knead for 12 minutes.
- If you are kneading this recipe by hand, add all of the ingredients to a bowl and partially mix it all together, tip it out onto your worktop and knead the dough for 12 minutes, then carry on with recipe.
- Turn out the dough from the mixer and form it into a ball, place it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl and let it proof/rise for a minimum of 1 hour, the dough should double in size (this may take longer depending on the temperature of your kitchen) if you can, proof your dough in the oven, with just the light bulb on.
- Prepare a small round banneton with the proofing liner in and lightly flour the liner, see the video for an alternative to the banneton.
- See links below for my bread making bundles.
- After the proofing time, turn out the risen dough onto a non-floured surface, and knock the dough back, this simply means force all of the gas out of it.
- Form the dough into a ball once more, and place it in the middle of the floured banneton basket.
- Lightly flour the top of the dough, then cover it with a dry light weight cloth, and allow it to proof for 45 minutes this time.
- When there is only 20 minutes left on the proofing time, preheat your oven 220°C / 430°F / Gas Mark 8, and place your Dutch oven in the oven to heat up.
- Once the proofing time is up, carefully lift the Dutch oven out and onto your hob, remove the lid, and very carefully tip the now risen dough from the banneton into the base of the Dutch oven.
- Quickly score the top of the bread, get the lid on, and get it back into the oven for 25 minutes.
- When the time is up, remove the lid from the Dutch oven, reduce the temperature to 180°C / 355°F / Gas Mark 6, and let it bake and crisp up for another 10 to 15 minutes depending on the colour that your prefer your crispy bread to be.
- Once done, remove it from the oven and the Dutch oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving with lots of butter.
- Enjoy.
Equipment & products used in my kitchen and videos
SUPER! Bread Making Bundle Offer (Including my Bread making Book) & Free Sourdough starter kit.
Original price was: £58.96.£49.98Current price is: £49.98.
Pro Food Homemade – Book 5: Tried & Tested Recipes not seen in any of my previous books.
Original price was: £10.99.£9.99Current price is: £9.99.
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