Hands-on time: 5 mins. to 10 mins.
Baking time: 40 mins.
Total time: roughly 13 hrs to 7 days
Yield: 1 rustic round loaf
Ingredients
1.5 cups warm water (360 grams)
425 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon salt (I am trying 1 t salt as 1.5 is borderline too much)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (active dry yeast)
Directions
* The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe so please measure in grams, not cups.
Prep the oven by placing the racks on the bottom two racks. The bread will go on the upper one and a cookie sheet underneath.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk/mix together. For first-timers, "lukewarm" means about 105°F, but don't stress over getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is fine; "OUCH, that's hot!" is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it nicely.
Mix in the water and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. I use a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour left in the bowl.
Next, let the dough rise. Cover the mixing bowl with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. There's no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it's time to bake bread.
Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. You also can let it rise at room temp for 2 to 4 hours then refrigerate it for at least 12 more hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you're pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it'll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it'll rise, then fall. That's OK; that's what it's supposed to do.
When you're ready to make bread, start preheating the oven to 450°F with your dutch oven inside. At this time, place the dough on a piece of parchment inside your proofing vessel. Optional: sift a very light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking. Once the oven is preheated, set a timer for 30 minutes to get everything rocket hot.
Let the dough rise for about the entire time the oven preheats and gets ready for baking. It won't appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to settle and expand.
When you're ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2" deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that's OK, it'll pick right up in the hot oven. Have an air bake cookie sheet at the ready.
Quickly take out the dutch oven. Place the bread inside it and return it to the oven. Quickly put the cookie sheet on the rack directly below the bread, this will keep the bottom from burning.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Remove the Dutch oven cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until it's golden brown.
Remove the bread from the oven and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.
Notes and things to try:
Yet to try: placing a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack instead of the empty cookie sheet. When ready to bake, I would carefully pour 1 cup of hot/boiling water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. This may add even more moisture to the bread.