Is there anything better than the smell of fresh bread wafting through your home? Over the last few months I've had so much fun experimenting with breads and I think I found the perfect recipe!
I've had countless people ask for this recipe, so I'm excited to share it with y'all! It's so simple, I promise anyone can do it!
Tools You'll Need
measuring spoons and cups
dutch oven with lid (I love this one)
First things first, you'll need a food scale. I know I know, it sounds snooty, but I promise this is how you'll get consistent results EVERY time.
Measure your flour and add the yeast and salt. Mix together. Add the hot water and oil. Use your hands (you can use a dough hook with a mixer, but I really like using my hands to get a good feel for the dough) mix the dough together until it because a sticky ball.
Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise over night. I always put mine on the counter next to the oven.
Get some beauty rest! In the morning, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Fold the outside corner of the dough into the middle. Repeat this process until you form a nice ball.
Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Cover and let it rest.
Meanwhile, with your dutch oven already in the oven, pre heat the oven to 450°F.
When the oven is ready, slash the top of your dough with a very sharp knife or kitchen shears. You can get fancy here and make designs if you want, or keep it simple and just do a few straight lines.
Remove the dutch oven from the oven, place your dough (with the parchment paper) into the dutch oven, cover, and put it back into the oven.
TIP: I like to put a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil on the very bottom of the oven. It helps to keep the bottom of the bread from burning. You also want to make sure your oven rack is set to the lowest position possible to keep the top of the bread from burning.
Bake the bread for 30 mins. Remove the lid and bake an additional 10 mins or until desired crust has formed.
Remove dutch oven from the oven and place bread on a cooling rack.
As hard as it is, DO NOT cut open that bread. I repeat DO NOT CUT THE BREAD. It may seem like a weird form of torture, but cutting into the bread before it's had a chance to cool, can result in a gummy middle. The steam inside is still cooking, so resist the temptation, wait until it's cool.
This bread is SO yummy on sandwiches, with jam, or just with a good ole' slab of butter.
See! It was that simple!
What if I don't have a dutch oven?
I've had a few people ask me this question. I've never actually tried baking this on a baking sheet, although I guess you could try! The dutch oven traps the steam while the bread is cooking and I've noticed it helps the bread sorta keep its shape. I'm curious to know how it turns out if you try using just a baking sheet, let me know!
Can you add things to this dough?
If you're wanting to try a raisin bread or something along those lines, you absolutely can! I just suggest waiting to add the raisins in until after it's risen overnight.
My favorite variations:
-everything but the bagel
-italian herb
-garlic and herb
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 425g of organic all purpose flour (roughly 3.4 cups)
- ½ tsp active yeast
- 2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 ¼ cup hot water
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
Directions
1. Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water.
2. Mix together until sticky dough forms.
3. Cover and let rest overnight or about 12 hours.
4. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Bring corner of dough into the middle and repeat this process until a ball forms.
5. Place dough ball on parchment paper and cover. Let rest.
5. Preheat oven (with the dutch oven inside) to 450°F.
6. Once oven is heated, remove dutch oven, slash the top of your dough with a very sharp knife or shears, place dough (with parchment paper) inside and cover with lid.
7. Bake for 30 mins. Uncover and bake an additional 10 mins,, or until desired crust has formed.
8. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
I even made this printable recipe card for y'all to keep for yourself or share with friends!
Also! If you're like me and like to stock up on the basics, check out Azure Standard! They are amazing and offer such a wide variety of things. Everything from pantry basics, to health and beauty. I love that they offer bulk prices and all I have to do is show up at my pick up location at the time they give me! Not to mention, they have such a wide selection of organics!
I'd love to see pictures if y'all try this recipe!
