I saw this on the news. I decided it was time to make bread! I've never done it other than loaves like banana bread. It was time for this experiment. I used my enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven. It is big (12 ") so I doubled the recipe. Thanks to Amazon, I was able to order a 10" banneton proofing basket for next day delivery. I rinsed/dried it and coated it with rice flour and whole wheat flour when it arrived. What I used and did:
- 5 cups bread flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 & 1/3 cups room temperature water (73°F)
- Scant cornmeal for dusting Dutch oven
And that's it. Mix flour, salt, yeast, add water and combine. I did this in my stand mixer with the paddle since I wasn't kneading it.
I only paddled until it was just mixed. The dough was sticky. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 8-20 hours. I did mine at bed time and put in unheated oven. It was really poofy when I woke up!
Turn dough on floured surface and form a ball by pulling the outsides to the center.
It wasn't firm and I had no idea what would become of that, but I got it into the banneton. I wasn't very optimistic at this point with the dough. 😔
Let rise for another hour or two in banneton proofing basket. During the last 15 minutes have a cast iron Dutch oven with lid in your stove's oven and turn it to 450°F .
When temperature is reached get the pot out, dust with cornmeal and fill it with the bread dough (dump it upside down).
Hey, at least it didn't stick to the banneton but I didn't drop it dead center into the pan. EDIT: On my next loaf, I learned I could just shake the dough in the pan and it moved and centered. Yay! Add the lid. Bake with the lid for 30 minutes. Below is how it looked after the half hour.
Remove lid and bake for another 30 minutes.
Turn upside down and dump out. It should sound hollow when tapping the bottom. It did. However, I just went by temperature with my thermometer. I was looking for 200°F (It was 202). It looked great and so did the bottom and I could tell it was crispy on the outside! I was so happy!
I let it cool for 40 minutes and then sliced it. It was fantastic! It was crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft inside. It was heavy but I did cut thick slices. It was just heaven with butter smeared on while warm. YUMMY!!! Was so happy it was a success! 🥰
I served this with homemade chili. We love dipping good bread into it so this seemed appropriate for dinner.
Just for reference, I made my dough at midnight and put it in the oven the next day at 6pm.
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